When the Coin Melts
by sycoandcrazy.inc
Summary: Sequel to Sara's Story. On the heels of one deadly situation comes another, in the form of a society dedicated to wiping out yokai. New friendships are made, and old loyalties put to the test.
1. Chapter 1

And here it is folk's! The sequel to Sara's Story....When the Coin Melts! A big thank you to all of our readers that have stayed with us thus far, and another thank you to Crazy for getting this chapter out so soon.

Remember we own nothing but the plot and our original characters!

* * *

Sara stood on the front porch of Genkai's temple, savoring the calm. Her eyes were drawn to a small bird that was fluttering in the grass, presumably looking for food. Sara smiled at the sight. Being here was so relaxing; it was hard to believe that only a few days ago, she had thought she was going to die.

After Kurama had changed back to normal, well, sort of normal, he had decided they should come here, to Genkai's temple. It was necessary because no one could be allowed to see Sara until she had figured out how to take a human form. It had also been necessary to make sure that no one who knew Kurama would see him.

Sara didn't understand why, but for some reason when Kurama had changed back from Yoko, his hair had kept several thick silver streaks. Kurama had seemed just as shocked as they were, but Sara was pretty sure he knew what was going on, and just wasn't telling them.

They had all spent Friday night, or what was left of it, at Genkai's, and early in the morning Koenma had arrived to talk to them. He'd told them that he'd fixed their house (Shiori had demanded to know what had happened to it in the first place) and he'd erased their neighbors' memories of the incident as well.

Koenma had brought Kurama some special dye for his hair too. Apparently, human dye wouldn't work on his hair because he was a kitsune.

Saturday and Sunday Kurama had worked with Sara to help her learn about her new abilities, but she hadn't progressed very far in that area. She was supposed to have some sort of psychic power now or something like that, but she hadn't really managed to use any of it, even a little. She was quite good at striking up conversations with plants however. If only everything else were so easy.

Kurama had also tried to teach her how to change into a human form, but Sara couldn't manage that either. Unfortunately, Sara couldn't return home with Kurama and Shiori until she learned how to keep up a human form. They had gone home Sunday evening, along with Caius. It seemed that Caius was going to stick around because he and Shiori were bonded now. Sara wasn't sure she liked that idea, but there was little she could do about it.

"Good morning, Sara."

Sara turned to find Yukina smiling at her. Sara smiled back. She had met Yukina briefly at Keiko's birthday party, but hadn't really gotten to interact with the girl until coming here. She had found Yukina to be a sweet though somewhat quiet companion. But Sara couldn't fault the girl for her silences; Sara wasn't very talkative either.

"Good morning, Yukina," Sara said. "Are you about to make breakfast?"

Yukina nodded. "I was wondering if you'd like to help me."

"Sure," Sara said, moving away from her spot and back inside the temple. Yukina always asked Sara to join her in the kitchen, though the asking wasn't really necessary at this point. Sara had sort of formed a habit of helping Yukina in the kitchen over the weekend.

Cooking had always been her job when she'd lived with Harold, so she'd been somewhat surprised to realize that she'd missed the chore when she helped Yukina. Granted she hadn't missed serving Harold, but she had missed the act of cooking; of preparing something she knew others would enjoy. When Yukina had seen that Sara liked helping her, she'd made a point of inviting her to do so again with every meal.

They fell into an easy routine in the kitchen, working quickly and efficiently. They were almost done when Genkai walked in. "Good morning, Yukina, Sara."

"Good morning Genkai," Yukina said with a sweet smile.

"Good morning," Sara said.

Genkai sat down at the table while Yukina and Sara set the plates and moved the food to the table. As Yukina and Sara were seating themselves, Hiei walked into the room. Sara stared in surprise. When had he arrived?

"Hiei!" Yukina said, hopping up from her seat. She seemed pleased that Hiei was there. "We're just about to eat breakfast; will you join us?"

Hiei glanced about the table and then nodded. He took a seat and Yukina quickly got him a plate and silverware.

Sara kept her eyes on her food. Hiei made her nervous. She knew he didn't like her, but she had no idea as to the reason.

"What brings you here today?" Genkai asked.

"I had nothing else to do," Hiei replied in a bored tone.

"Are you planning to stick around today?"

Sara glanced up and saw Hiei shrug. "I might."

Genkai nodded. "Good. You're going to help me train Sara today."

"What?" Sara and Hiei asked at the same time.

Genkai didn't seem bothered by their response. "Kurama asked me to keep up Sara's training so that she'd be able to take a human form sooner. However, my expertise is in spirit energy, which Sara doesn't use. I was going to ask Yukina to help, but your help would be better, because you use telepathy, and power of the mind is where Sara's focus will be."

Hiei scowled. "And if I don't feel like helping?"

"Then you can leave," Genkai said, sounding irritated.

Sara hoped he'd choose to leave. She didn't want to work with Hiei of all people. He made her far too nervous.

"Hiei, please help her," Yukina said. "She can't go back home until she learns."

Hiei still looked disgruntled, but he gave in after Yukina's plea. "Fine, I'll help. But only for today."

Sara wished that Yukina hadn't said anything. If she hadn't, Hiei might have said no.

_But why, _Sara wondered, _did Yukina's words make a difference?_

Hiei didn't seem the type to care about anyone's opinion. She rehearsed the events of the morning in her mind, and it left her wondering. Were Hiei and Yukina perhaps a couple? It was possible, though Sara didn't know what was so appealing about Hiei. Personally, she'd prefer someone who was gentle and kind, like…

Sara felt a blush on her face as she forced the thought away. Now was not the time to be thinking about that, especially since Hiei could read minds. Granted it wasn't wrong for her to entertain those thoughts, since Kurama felt the same way about her, or at least Sara was fairly certain he did, but this was not the place.

They finished eating and Yukina began to clear the dishes off of the table. "Sara, Hiei, let's go," Genkai said. "We need to get started."

Genkai led Sara outside to the same stretch of clear land that Kurama had been using to train her. Sara had never asked, but she had a feeling that this land was designated for the express purpose of training people.

"Sit," Genkai ordered. "We'll meditate first."

Sara obediently sat on the ground, her tail curling about her waist. She was still getting used to the tail. Of all the physical changes she'd gone through, the tail was by far the strangest.

Sara closed her eyes, relaxed her body and cleared her mind. Meditating had come easily to Sara; it was not dissimilar to what she had done to take her mind off her pain many nights after she had endured beatings from Harold.

Kurama had been trying to use the meditation to lead Sara into discovering her powers. Always she was able to see a small, bright spark within her mind's eye, but no matter how hard she tried, it was always just out of reach.

The spark appeared as she knew it would, like the flame of a distant candle. Sara reached for it, again and again, but it was as if a thick sheet of glass was between her and it. She couldn't reach.

"You're doing it wrong," Hiei snapped after a few minutes.

Sara opened her eyes and stared at him in surprise. "I am?"

Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her from where he was standing. "You aren't supposed to go to your power. You control it, not the other way around. Make it come to you."

Sara hesitantly nodded. It hadn't occurred to her to try to order her power around. She really wasn't the ordering type.

Focusing on meditation again, she waited for the spark to reappear. When it did, she thought, _Come here._

"You call that an order?" Hiei snorted. "Nothing would obey a weak attempt like that."

Sara flushed and looked down, feeling hurt and resentful. It wasn't like she was used to giving orders; she wasn't Hiei.

Sara concentrated on her power once more. _Come here,_ she said more firmly.

"Pathetic," Hiei said.

Sara flinched and glanced up at Genkai, hoping the older woman would stop Hiei's insults somehow. But Genkai was ignoring them both apparently, and was busy meditating herself.

Sara took a deep breath and concentrated again. When she found her power, she focused all her anger upon it. _Come here!_

And suddenly, it was there. The power filled her, warming her up from the inside out. When she opened her eyes, she almost expected to find herself glowing. She grinned widely at Genkai, who was watching her with a mild look of approval. "I did it!" Sara said.

"Good job," Genkai said. "Thank you, Hiei, for your help."

"Hn," Hiei said. "Can I go now?"

"Yes," Genkai said.

Hiei started to walk away. Sara hesitated for a second, and then called out, "Thank you, Hiei."

Hiei paused, but then kept walking with no reply. At least he had acknowledged that he'd heard her, which was the most Sara could hope for at this point. Maybe someday he'd think of her a friend like the others did.

_But I have a feeling that won't happen until I quit being scared of him._

* * *

Kurama sat at the lunch table, and was not at all surprised when Maya all but pounced on him, demanding, "Where's Sara?"

"She stayed home today," Kurama told her. "Sara was not feeling well."

"I'm surprised you didn't stay home sick today," Kaito said dryly.

Kurama glanced over at him. "Why would I be home sick?"

Kaito grinned at Maya. "He's forgotten what day it is."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Really, I don't know how he can."

Kurama was about to question them further when a voice from behind him said, "Shuichi?"

Kurama almost groaned. It was _that_day. Plastering on a fake smile, he turned to see a nervously blushing Beni standing behind him, along with several other members of his fan club. Today was the anniversary of the day the club was formed, and every year on this day they insisted on giving him some kind of present.

"Shuichi, this is from all of us," Beni said, holding out a carefully wrapped present. "We hope you like it."

Kurama hesitated. He usually accepted the gift out of politeness, but this year he really didn't want to. In addition, if he was going to pretend to have feelings for Sara, then he really should not accept the gift.

"I am sorry, Beni, but I am afraid I can not accept this."

Beni pulled back, looking shocked. "Wh-what?"

"There is someone I like now, so it would not be right for me to accept a gift from you," Kurama said, making his smile look apologetic.

Beni looked shaken. "I see. Well, then, we'll just…leave." She turned and walked away, followed by the other girls.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you send them away," Maya said, "but who is it you like?"

"Sara of course," Kaito said, looking amused. "Who else would it be?"

Maya went starry eyed. "Oh, you and Sara! That will be such a cute couple!"

"I do not know anything about that," Kurama said, "but I have not actually made anything official with Sara. I would appreciate it if you two would refrain from saying anything."

Maya pouted. "Well, I suppose." There was a pause in the conversation. "So how are you planning to make things official with Sara?"

Kurama almost sighed once more. Perhaps it would have been easier to accept the gift from Beni.

* * *

"Beni, what are we going to do?" Ari wailed. "Some vixen has blinded Shuichi and stolen his heart!"

Beni stopped walking in the hall and angrily gripped the rejected present. "It was that new girl, Sara. I know it."

Beni whirled around and glared at her closest companions, and fellow Shuichi lovers. "We must defeat her, and free Shuichi from her evil clutches!"

"But how are we going to do that without making Shuichi think badly of us?" Aiko asked.

Beni smirked. "Oh, don't worry about that, ladies. Once we're done with her, Shuichi will thank us for getting rid of her." Beni turned and began walking again, a new spring in her step.

"Sara, you have met your match!"

* * *

Barago stepped off the plane with relief. Even if it was one of the most convenient modes of travel, he still didn't think it was natural or safe to fly like that in the air.

He made his way through the airport as quickly as he could, picking a few pockets along the way as he was running low on cash. He enjoyed the irony of picking the pocket of one of the security guards.

Barago got out of the door and started walking down the road. He could have rented a car, but felt like stretching his legs after that long flight to Japan. Besides, he only had one bag, so it wasn't like he really needed a car.

He was getting closer to his goal, he could feel it, with every step he took. Soon now he'd find the one he'd spent the last ten years of his life searching for.

Or at the very least, he' d find all that was left of her.

* * *

Crazy also wanted me to mention that the person that who could name the manga from which we borrowed Barago's name would win an one shot from Crazy. So start that guessing! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

**The answer has been guessed by our first reviewer, rosewhip889! She correctly said that the name Barago was taken from From Far Away, which is an awesome manga, and everyone should read.**


	2. Chapter 2

The picture was carefully pulled out of the solution and hung to dry on the wire running across the length of the room. There it joined the long line of other pictures that hung on the wire.

The boy stepped back carefully and surveyed his handiwork. With a critical eye, he examined each one, finally ending on a nod. Not that the nod would have been visible to anyone else in the room, as it was pitch-black, except for the existence of little red lights that just allowed him to see.

He was quite used to it though. Ever since he was little, he had been interested in photography, and eventually he had annoyed his parents so much that they had allowed him to set up a dark room in his closet. It was a very big closet, but it was still cramped.

He carefully opened the door and stepped out of the closet. He turned around, blinking in—to him—the blinding light. He was finally illuMayated and was revealed to be a young boy, around twelve or so. He had the typical black hair of the Japanese, even if his was a little longer than most males like to keep it—around his shoulders and if his parents let him, a little longer—and the same brown eyes that drew his father to his mother.

The boy glanced at a clock, _7:30AM_ it said in big letters, which inspired a flurry of activity. The boy tore around the bedroom, grabbing clothes with a customary sniff and pulling them on. He was just hopping out the door while pulling socks one with his mother yelled.

"Ashja! Get down here! You don't want to be late for school."

"Coming Mom!" He ran down the stairs and sat at the table. "Hey Mom. Hey Dad."

His father looked up over his morning paper, taking in his rumpled appearance, "Morning son. Been up in the dark room again?"

Ashja took a break from stuffing his face, "Yeah, I'm developing the pictures I took over the weekend." He gulped down the rest of his drink, "Don't open the door; it'll ruin the pictures."

Ashja stood and grabbed his bag, "Bye Dad. Bye Mom!" And the boy was gone.

His mother shook her head, "I swear, that boy would live quite happily just developing the pictures he takes."

He dad laughed, "He probably would dear; he probably would."

* * *

Kurama walked home with Maya and Kaito. He knew, _absolutely knew_, that he should not have told Maya that he and Sara were going to become official.

"Sooooo, what are you going to do to make things official with Sara?" Maya bugged Kurama.

Kurama sighed, "I do not know yet Maya; the same answer I gave you earlier."

Kaito laughed, "You might as well just make something up real quick; she will never stop asking you and putting her nose in your love life."

Maya huffed, "I'm not putting my nose in Shuichi's love life! I'm putting it in Sara's."

Kurama looked at her strangely, "Why are you so interested in her love life?"

"Well," Maya looked thoughtful, "I think that she hasn't had that much happiness in her life." Maya smiled at Kurama, "You're a good guy. You can make her happy, and I don't have to worry about you hurting her!"

Kurama felt a twinge of guilt. _But_, he thought to himself,_ I'm only doing this to let her gain confidence in herself, and so she will stay where I can keep an eye on her._

He waited for a response from his other inner self, but there was none.

Kurama was worried; there had been no sign of life from Yoko since the incident where he was forced into his kitsune form.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by Maya.

"Bye Shuichi! Bye Kaito!"

The boys said bye to her and continued walking.

Kaito looked sharply at Kurama, "Something tells me that you're hiding something."

Kurama looked back innocently, "Of course I am. No one should reveal everything."

Kaito shook his head, "I hope that you know what you're doing."

* * *

Beni paced in her room, stopping for a moment each time at the Shuichi shrine in the corner of her room.

"What should we do?" She pondered aloud. "I had to sound confident when talking to the rest of the girls, but right now I don't have a clear plan yet."

She stalked around for a few more minutes. "What to do? He will walk her to her locker, so nothing in there. There are girls that have her in a class though…"

Beni let out a frustrated cry. "Ah! I'm getting nothing done this way. I need a calming cup of tea."

She marched out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen. She pointedly ignored a note from her parents saying that they would be home late again from work as she put the water on to boil. While waiting for the water to get done, Beni glance at the open news paper her father had left lying of the kitchen table.

She stopped suddenly, "What is this…Oh that's perfect!"

Picking up the paper, she giggled, "Soon he will belong to us all again!"

* * *

Ashja ran into his house, "Mom! I'm home!" He slipped his shoes off and threw his bag onto the couch.

He had just made it up three steps when his mother's voice stopped him.

"Young man! I hope that you aren't going to just run to that photo room of yours!"

Ashja stopped running and when in the kitchen where his mom stood with her hands on her hips.

"No Mom," he began, making his eyes real big, "I was coming in here to give you a hug and thank you for looking after me and giving me a good life and—"

She interrupted him, laughing, "Ok, that's enough Ashja! No, you can't go into your dark room until after you have a snack, do your homework, and play outside a little bit."

Ashja gave a big sigh, "But Mom…"

She shook a finger at him, "No buts! Now eat these apple slices and milk. Then homework Ashja."

It wasn't until after dinner that Ashja was finally able to make it to his dark room. His mom made him do his homework and play outside some. She also made him help her cook dinner, and usually he wouldn't mind, but he had pictures to look at!

He opened the door to his dark room; this time not worried about the light as he knew for sure the pictures were fully developed.

He took down the first picture with careful fingers and eagerly looked at it.

His breathe caught in his throat. _What in the world…_

The world spun as he blacked out.

* * *

Well, now that Syco's taken forever with updating this story, we are happy to let you know that we are forcing ourselves to stick to a strict two week update schedule. That means this story and Assassin will both be updated on July 10th. Syco and I will keep each other to this schedule, we promise, under pain of...something mildly unpleasent...rap music? (Apologies to those who enjoy listening to rap. I just don't care for it.)

Anyways, see you all on July 10th!


	3. Chapter 3

Ashja woke up with an aching head. He sat up and glancing around realized that even though he felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer, he'd only been out for a few moments.

Ashja picked up the picture that had caused this mess. It was a picture of his neighbor's house; he was pretty sure their last name was Minamino. Only, in the picture, their house had a gaping hole in the front of it and there was a giant mutated rose bush in the front yard.

Rubbing his head, Ashja thought about the past Friday night. He remembered that while getting ready for bed, he had heard an explosion outside. He had run to the window and seen the Minamino's house, and without thinking further had grabbed one of his cameras so he could run outside and take pictures.

Ashja stood and looked at the other pictures on the line. Most of them were the usual pictures he took- family, friends, random cool scenes- but others were like that first picture, of the Minamino's house in ruins.

Ashja walked to his bedroom window and looked outside. There was the Minamino's house, looking perfectly normal and most definitely not blown up.

"But that's impossible," Ashja said. He paced his room as he tried to figure out what this all meant. "So, on Friday someone blew up their house, but by Saturday morning, not only was their house repaired, somehow all our memories of it were erased."

This could only mean one thing; somebody was throwing around powerful magic.

His bedroom door opened and his mom stuck her head in. "Ashja, sweetie, it's time for you to get ready for bed."

"Mom, look at this picture!" Ashja said dashing over to her.

His mom blinked and glanced at the picture in his hand. "That's a very nice picture. I've always wondered how the Minamino's managed to keep their yard so nice. Do you know I have never seen a single weed in that yard?"

Ashja looked down at the picture in his hand; yes, the house was definitely blown up. Why couldn't his mom see that?

"Bed, now, Ashja," his mom said. "You can play with your pictures and cameras later."

If Ashja weren't so concerned right now, he would have been upset at his mother's use of the word "play." He didn't "play" with his cameras; he was in training to be a professional photographer!

"Okay, Mom, good night," Ashja said, carefully putting the picture away. As he got ready for bed he puzzled over the situation. Why couldn't his mom see the real picture?

Finally, Ashja decided it was because she was an adult. Adults didn't believe in things children knew were real, like magic and monsters. So, if his mom didn't believe anyways, and her memories had been erased, it only made sense that she couldn't see that picture.

_But if I get new pictures, of things that her memory hasn't been erased of, wouldn't she be able to see that?_

Ashja thought she probably would be able to.

_But once I prove that they're not normal- cause they aren't- what am I going to do then?_

Ashja wasn't quite sure on that point. Maybe if he got proof, he could convince them to teach him about magic. That would be pretty cool, not to mention useful.

Satisfied with his plan, Ashja settled down under his covers. _Operation Stalk Minamino starts tomorrow._

* * *

Shiori was up earlier than usual on Tuesday morning. She'd had a lot on her mind and had eventually decided to get up and get started on her day, rather than lay and bed and worry.

Shiori tried to maneuver quietly around the kitchen as she made herself a cup of tea and thought about those problems she would have to address.

First and foremost was the stack of bills for the month in her room. She could pay them, but just barely. She wouldn't have any extra money for anything, and pay day was two weeks away.

_I need to get more money. I can't afford to cut things this close every month. _

Shiori poured the cup of tea. Her bills were going to stay higher because Sara and Caius were both living with her now, and while Caius didn't actually add to their grocery bill, he did add to the electricity and water bills.

Shiori didn't have time for another job though, and she couldn't ask Kurama or Sara to work. That left Caius, and Shiori wasn't certain what kind of job he could get.

Speaking of Caius, that was another of her problems. He had of course moved into the house with them. There hadn't seemed to be much of an option there, not after he'd bonded to Shiori. That situation was taking some getting used to.

Besides the general awkwardness of the situation, Shiori didn't know where to put Caius. While Sara was at Genkai's, Shiori was letting him stay in her room, but once Sara returned, Shiori didn't know where he would go. There were only three bedrooms in the house after all.

_Maybe I could convert the downstairs office to a bedroom. I never use that room anyways…_

But that was going to cost money, which Shiori didn't have.

"Sometimes, I hate being an adult," Shiori muttered, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"Ah, but children miss out on so much that only adults can appreciate," Caius said, and his hands gently began to massage Shiori's shoulders.

Shiori nearly jumped from the chair in fright. "Caius!"

He smiled down at her, as always. "Apologies. I didn't mean to startle you."

Shiori wasn't convinced of that. She got the impression he got some sort of kick out of startling her.

Caius sat beside her. "Now, what has you so upset this early in the morning?"

Shiori studied him. Now would be a good time to talk to him without worrying about Kurama overhearing the state of their finances.

"I need you to get a job," Shiori said

Caius tilted his head. "Come again?"

"We need more money and I won't ask Shuichi or Sara to work," Shiori said. "That leaves you. Do you think you can get a job? Something legal," she added hastily.

Caius's smile took a thoughtful turn. "I suppose I can try and find something. Although, I really don't have the qualifications by a human employer's standards to get a well paying job; not if you insist on it being legal."

Shiori sighed. "Any money you can make would help."

"Consider it done," Caius said, before leaning in to give her a quick kiss.

Shiori felt the tingling sensation that meant Caius was feeding before he quickly pulled back. "I thought I told you not to randomly kiss me," Shiori said, fighting down a blush.

"You did, but I only have to obey orders that you really mean," Caius said with a wink. "I'll be off to look for that job now."

Caius left before Shiori could argue, and she sat at the table grumbling. "Where does he think he's going to find a job at six in the morning?"

* * *

Yukina had just finished the last preparations for Tuesday night's supper, and Genkai and Sara still weren't back from practicing. She would probably have to go fetch them, like she had for lunch earlier.

Sara was determined to master disguising herself as soon as possible. She had practiced all day Monday, and all day today, but so far as Yukina knew, had made no real progress.

Yukina heard soft footsteps, and turned to see Hiei in the doorway of the kitchen. Yukina smiled, pleasantly surprised. Hiei didn't normally visit this often.

"Hiei, it's nice to see you," Yukina said.

"Hn," Hiei responded with his customary frown. "Kurama wanted me to find out how Sara's progressing."

"I was just about to fetch her and Genkai from training," Yukina said. "Would you like to accompany me?"

Hiei said nothing but fell into step beside her. Yukina noticed that the closer they got to the training grounds, the deeper Hiei's frown became, until he was scowling.

Finally Sara and Genkai appeared in their view. Sara had her eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating intently. There was a soft glow about her, evidence that she was attempting to change her form.

And then it happened; for a split second Sara looked like a normal human, the way she had when Yukina had first met her. But then it was gone, and Sara was once more in her true form, panting from the effort.

"Good," Genkai said. "You've made a breakthrough."

Sara smiled, looking at Genkai, and then she glanced over at Yukina and Hiei. When she saw Hiei, Sara visibly cringed and looked down. Yukina was bemused. It was obvious enough that Sara was frightened of Hiei, but Yukina couldn't fathom a reason for it. Sure Hiei was a bit rough around the edges, but he was a good and loyal friend as well.

"Supper is ready," Yukina told them.

"We're done for the day then, Sara," Genkai said, getting to her feet.

"Kurama wants to know when she'll be ready," Hiei said to Genkai.

Genkai looked thoughtful. "If she continues at this rate, I'd say she'll be ready by next week."

Hiei nodded and left, blurring out of sight. Once he was gone, Yukina noticed that Sara relaxed.

The three of them walked back to the temple in silence, each filled with their own thoughts. Yukina was wondering how she might help Sara overcome her fears of Hiei. If she was going to b friends with the group, it was unavoidable that the two of them meet. Likewise, it would be best if Hiei could get over his dislike of Sara enough to at least tolerate her.

Yukina smiled as a thought occurred to her. Perhaps she should set them up on a date. Not a romantic date, more of a play date, shall we say. At the very least, they needed to be put in a situation where they had to spend time together. Not alone of course; Yukina was optimistic, not stupid.

_But how can I arrange for them to spend time together?_

Yukina wasn't too worried. According to Genkai, she had at least a week to think something up.

* * *

Hmm, I wonder what Yukina is going to pull here? We shall see, we shall see. Anyways, the next update will be on **July 24****th****.** See you all then!


	4. Chapter 4

Barago entered the cool library, blinking to help his eyes adjust after the bright sunlight. He smiled at the librarian and threw his waist length brown hair over his shoulder. "Hello miss," He said in a charming tone, leaning over the counter.

"Good afternoon sir. How can I help you?" She answered, seemingly flustered by his closeness.

He smiled, "Could you direct me to the collection of newspapers? Or the computers maybe?"

The librarian nodded, "Of course, please follow me."

Barago followed the woman, laughing to himself. It wasn't necessary to charm the woman to get what he wanted, but it was fun and useful... after all he didn't have a library card.

"Here are the computers and there are the newspapers. Please help yourself and let me know if I can do anything else to be of service."

"Thank you for your help. You have been a great service to me thus far." He smiled one last time and sat at a computer to begin his search once again.

* * *

Kurama walked to school that Wednesday morning, wondering if he should check on Sara himself that afternoon. It would at least get him away from Caius.

Kurama's lip lifted in a silent snarl. He did not like Caius, could not stand him in fact. The only reason Kurama put up with him is because his mother was bonded to that. . . leech!

He felt a warning in the back of his mind. Someone was following him. Kurama sniffed, checking out his surroundings. There, about twenty feet back was a boy. Kurama checked the reflection in a store window; it was the neighbor boy, Ashja he thought his name was. He had a camera around his neck and was obviously trying to follow Kurama without being noticed.

Kurama chuckled quietly; the boy was actually humorous with such a serious expression on his face.

He almost stopped walking as a horrifying thought entered his mind. _Oh no, what if Beni and the other stalkers were paying him to take pictures of him!_ He gave an inconspicuous shudder; no way, no how did he want those girls having pictures of him to moon over. . . even if they already had some he didn't want them having more.

Then another occurred to him, _What if they are using the kid to find out which girl I'm seeing? _He considered this for a second. They were bound to find out sooner or later, he just had to make sure Sara knew to be careful of them, and he would also be watching out for her. Sara should be safe from their retaliation.

He glanced behind him while crossing a crosswalk. He would just have to deal with a mini-stalker for now. Or he could lose him...Kurama smiled. It might even be fun to play with him.

* * *

Caius swept in the house after Kurama left for school.

Shiori raised an eyebrow at his appearance. His clothes were rumpled, he carried a guitar case, and, "Why do you smell of smoke?"

"Good morning, Shiori." He leaned in for a quick kiss. "I found a job."

"Good, but that did not answer my question."

"Well, the job I found was playing and singing in a bar. I get paid a couple dollars an hour and tips." He smiled smugly at Shiori.

Shiori glared at Caius, "That's not a real job! How do you expect to make any money doing that?"

Caius blinked, "Well, I happen to be a really good singer. . ."

It was Shiori's turn to blink, then blush, "Right. Of course." She looked away, saw the guitar case and swung back to Caius, "Wait, where did you get the guitar?"

"Ah, you see that is where I was for most the day yesterday." Caius looked annoyed for a moment, "You told me nothing illegal so I had to find a guitar legally. I found a old lady that was holding a yard sale. I was able to work the guitar off by cleaning her yard and doing odd jobs for her."

Shiori was surprised, "You helped an old woman for the entire afternoon for a guitar?"

Caius looked insulted, "I would not simply steal it!"

"Yes, you would," Shiori said with narrowed eyes, but then she smiled, "but maybe there's hope for you yet."

* * *

Koenma sat at his desk stamping papers and yelling at the ogres running around the office. His pacifier was just hanging in his mouth with his furious yelling.

Then an ogre ran in the office area yelling something that caused the entire office to still. "They're back! Koenma, sir, they're back!"

Koenma glared, "Who's back? "They" doesn't tell me very much! It could be any group, any group at all!"

The ogre slammed to a stop at the desk, panting harshly. "It's the Society sir! The Society of Light!"

Koenma chewed fiercely on his pacifier. "They're back? After so many years of hiding? What are they planning . . ." His mumble slowly faded into silence.

George came to the desk with a new stack of papers, "Koenma, who is the Society of Light?"

Koenma looked off with an unfocused gaze. "You wouldn't remember them, George, their last big uprising was thousands of years ago." He refocused on George, "They are a group that believes so fiercely in human superiority that they believe all non-humans should be exterminated, or serve as slaves to the human race. They believe that even those with only partial non-human blood are less than a pure human."

"But why are they so dangerous?"

Koenma turned a savage gaze on George. "Once there were elves, dwarves, and other creatures. But not anymore, not since the Society started killing everything not human. In those days, the Fourth Age, the Age of Men, the demons weren't so bloodthirsty; many lived peacefully with humans. After the massacre at Rivendell, everything changed. All the Elves left on the earth either left for the Undying Lands or were killed. The dwarves' numbers dwindled until there were none left and the demons. . .the demons turned savage, killing humans in revenge whenever they could. It was almost a relief when the wars between the Guardian and Jack tore the world apart. There were no demons for the Society to hunt. Looks like they're back now."

"We must find out what they are going to do," Koenma said. "George, get Botan, and send her after Kuwabara. Someone is going undercover."

* * *

Okay, Syco wrote the new chapter on time! Barely though, she wrote all of it today. Anyways, it's still on time. The next chapter will come out on August 7th.


	5. Chapter 5

Ashja followed as near to Minamino as he dared. He didn't want Minamino to spot him if he could help it.

So far, Ashja hadn't seen the teenager do anything strange, which was somewhat disappointing. It was only to be expected though; it wasn't likely that Minamino would do anything suspicious while in public.

_If only there was a way I could photograph them while they were in their house._

Ashja was sure he'd catch them doing something then. Minamino turned the corner leading into an alley way, and Ashja followed a few moments later, and then froze. The alley dead ended into a wall, but Minamino was nowhere to be seen.

Carefully, Ashja looked from side to side for a place where Minamino might be hiding, but couldn't find any such spot. Then Ashja looked up at the fire escapes on the buildings he was standing by, but Minamino wasn't up there, either.

"Okay," he said. "This is weird."

There was no way Minamino should have been able to disappear like that. Could he make himself invisible? Or maybe there had been some kind of portal or something. Ashja raised his camera and snapped several pictures of the alley before walking in. He tapped against the walls, but they all seemed solid to him.

"Really weird," he muttered. Ashja left the ally way and quickly walked towards his school. He'd have to hurry if he didn't want to be late.

Kurama hopped down from the roof of the building he'd hidden on feeling very thoughtful. Ashja hadn't reacted at all like Kurama had expected. Why had the boy taken pictures of an empty alley way? What had he been looking for when he tapped the walls? Had he been searching for some kind of exit that he thought Kurama might have used?

Most of all, why had Ashja looked up? It was a well known fact that humans never looked up. It never occurred to them that they should. But Ashja had, and in Kurama's mind that said a lot about his character.

_I don't think he's working for my fan club after all,_ Kurama mused. _But if that's the case, what is he after?_

It was a problem to ponder later, Kurama decided. Ashja was only a kid after all.

Kurama continued towards school and met up with Kaito when he was nearly there. "Sara is still sick then?" he asked as Kurama fell in beside him.

"I'm afraid so," Kurama said.

"If she doesn't get better soon, Maya is going to want to visit," Kaito said, convincing Kurama that Kaito knew that Sara wasn't sick, but had another reason for avoiding school.

"I shall deal with that when it happens," Kurama replied.

"Shuichi, Kaito, hey!"

Kaito sent Kurama an amused glance over Maya's timing. "Where's Sara?" she demanded once she caught up with the boys.

"Still sick," Kurama said.

Maya frowned. "Poor girl; this is the third day. That's it, this afternoon I'm going to go visit!"

"Do you know where she lives?" Kurama asked.

That gave Maya pause. "Nooo, I guess I don't." Then she brightened. "But you do! You two are doing the project together."

"We never went to her house to work on the project," Kurama said. "Only mine."

Maya's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Oh. I guess I have to wait till she comes back to school then. Hey, what's going on up there?"

Maya moved ahead of the guys and up the school's steps. She pushed herself through the crowd around the front door as Kaito and Kurama made it to the bottom of the steps. The boys were startled to hear a shout of rage from Maya and the sound of tearing paper.

"All of you get out of here! There's nothing to see!" Maya shouted.

Kurama and Kaito pushed their way through the retreating crowd to get to Maya who was holding a large piece of paper in her hands and had tears in her eyes. "Look at this!" she said, thrusting the paper towards them.

Kaito and Kurama quickly scanned the paper, which turned out to be a newspaper article that someone had blown up to a larger size. It was a short article, one not likely to be noticed in a newspaper, but it talked about Harold Clark being exported to the United States for suspicion of murder, among various other crimes. It also mentioned that Harold Clark had a daughter, Sara, who would remain living in Japan.

Kurama closed his eyes. Sara would have had a hard enough time getting to be friends with the general student population because of her shyness, but this would truly make her a social outcast. Beneath the anger he felt that anyone would be so cruel as to do this, Kurama was relieved that at least Sara hadn't been here when it happened.

"We'd better make sure there aren't any more," Kaito said grimly.

The three split up to search the school before their first class started. Kurama found eight more of the papers hung up on walls, and really didn't want to know how many Kaito and Maya found. Each paper fueled his anger, though he did his best to keep it from clouding his thoughts.

Kurama paid little attention to his morning classes, trying to decide who was responsible for this outrage. Finally, he decided Beni had to be the culprit. Kurama couldn't think of anyone else at the school that would want to hurt Sara, or more likely Kurama's opinion of Sara, more than Beni and that rabid fan club of hers.

Unfortunately, he had no proof that Beni was the culprit, so there was no way to get her in trouble. He would simply have to bide his time and wait for her to make a mistake.

When lunch came around, Maya was still upset too, and had come to the same conclusion that Kurama had about who was at fault.

"I can't believe she would do something like this!" Maya stormed. "I always thought she was a vindictive witch, but I never thought she was evil! And you," she said, suddenly rounding on Kurama. "You knew!"

Kurama was caught off guard by Maya's unexpected accusation. "I had no idea Beni was planning any such thing," Kurama argued.

"Not that," Maya said. "You knew about Sara's situation. You weren't surprised at all when you read that article."

Well. There was certainly no getting out of this situation. "I knew," Kurama said with a sigh.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Maya demanded.

"Because Sara didn't tell me," Kurama said. "I found out by accident. Sara's father was a cruel man, and Sara has a hard time really trusting people. I thought it best to wait until Sara was comfortable enough to tell you on her own time."

Maya considered this and then asked, "If her dad has been shipped out of the country, then where is Sara staying?"

Kurama did not want to answer this question, because he just knew what would be coming next. However, he had to tell Maya something. "She is staying at my house," Kurama admitted.

"So you were lying to me this morning," Maya said, looking hurt.

"I couldn't have told you that Sara was staying at my house without telling you about her father," Kurama said. "That was the only reason I didn't tell you the truth. I didn't want to lie to you, but it didn't seem right to tell Sara's secrets."

Maya was quiet for a while. "I forgive you," Maya said. "But don't lie to me again. I would rather you told me it's something you can't talk about than lie to me."

Kurama felt a flash of guilt. Maya was a good friend and all he'd ever done was lie to her. It was necessary however. Koenma might accept his mother knowing about them, but he'd be furious if Kurama told random normal humans.

Besides it would be cruel to bring Maya into his world when she didn't have to be there.

"I won't lie to you again," Kurama promised, knowing as he did so that the promise itself was a lie. He'd lie to her whenever he felt it necessary.

"Now that that's settled," Kaito said, "what are we going to do about Beni?"

"We can't do anything," Kurama said. "We have no proof to take to the administration."

"Who says the administration has to get involved?" Kaito asked.

"That's right," Maya said, her eyes glittering. "Let's take justice in our own hands."

Kurama's first impulse was to say no. He'd spent his school years avoiding causing any sort of trouble, to try and remain below radar and to keep his mother happy. However, his perfect act hadn't made Shiori happy; he had managed to make her miserable instead, and did he really need the school to think that he was flawless?

Well, Shiori had told him she wanted him to be himself, and what he really wanted more than anything was to make Beni regret ever finding out he existed. She had wronged someone he cared about, and by extension, she had wronged him.

Kurama smiled. "Very well then; but we must make sure we cannot be found guilty of any wrong doing."

"We don't have to necessarily break school rules to get back at her," Kaito said.

"I say we see how Beni likes swallowing her own medicine," Maya said gleefully. "The journalism club owes me a favor; let me see what they can dig up."

"Good idea," Kurama said.

"I'll better go talk to them now," Maya said. "I'll see you guys in fourth block."

When school let out, the three friends walked together, as they did on most days. "Guess what I realized?" Maya asked.

"What?" Kaito asked.

"Since Sara is at Shuichi's house, I can go visit her!" Maya said triumphantly.

Kaito chuckled as Kurama fought to keep his expression under control. "That's really not necessary, Maya," Kurama said. "Sara tires very easily and isn't really up to visitors right now."

Maya stood in front of Kurama, hands on her hips, with her best no nonsense glare. "Shuichi. I am going to your house. I am going to visit Sara. You are not going to stop me. Is that clear?"

What exactly was it about angry females that made them all slightly intimidating, no matter how weak and helpless they might really be? It was the same with females of any race; the moment they put their hands on their hips like that, the men knew there was really no point in arguing. Granted Kurama could handle them better than most, but in this case he had nothing to argue with, except the truth, and he most certainly couldn't tell Maya that.

_Perhaps I should just let Mother tell her no; surely Maya won't argue with an adult._

"Very well," Kurama said with a sigh.

Kaito glanced over at him, but Kurama ignored the look. He didn't need to be reminded that Sara wasn't actually at his house.

"Are you going to come too, Kaito?" Maya asked.

"I believe I shall," Kaito said. "I'd like to see how Sara's doing myself."

What he'd like to see was how Kurama was going to pull this off, which rather annoyed Kurama. But if it became necessary, he might be able to help keep Maya from finding out that Sara wasn't there.

They got to Kurama's house and trooped inside. "Mother?" Kurama called, and was disappointed when he didn't get a response. She must not have been home from work yet. She had a rather unpredictable schedule, sometimes home before Kurama, sometimes not until late in the evening.

"She must have gone to the store for a minute," Kaito said.

"Then let's go see Sara," Maya said from the bottom of the steps. Kurama's eyes widened. When had Maya gotten over there?

"Maya," he called swiftly following her, but Maya bounded up the steps and out of his reach. She opened the door to Sara's room just as Kurama and Kaito came up from behind her.

"Oh," Maya said, staring at the figure lying in Sara's bed.

Kurama stared as well. It was impossible; Sara was at Genkai's temple, and yet, there she lay in her bed, her eyes closed and face flushed with fever.

_How…Caius._

Kurama's mood completely soured. Of course it was Caius. There was no other logical explanation.

Sara's, or rather, Caius's, eyes flickered open. "Maya?"

Maya walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Hey Sara. How are you feeling?"

Caius smiled up at her. "Better. I hope I can come back to school soon."

It was sickening to watch. Oh, sure, it was rather lucky that Caius had been there and had changed to fool Maya, but Kurama did not like seeing him use Sara's form.

"I'll go now so you can rest," Maya said. "Get well soon."

Maya slipped out of the room, and the guys followed her down the stairs. "See you tomorrow, Shuichi," Maya said heading for the front door. "Hopefully by then the journalism club will have found some dirt on Beni."

"I'll walk you home," Kaito said. "See you later Shuichi."

Kurama said good bye and shut the door behind them. Then he went upstairs to Sara's room. Caius was already up and remaking the bed.

Caius glanced over at Kurama who stood in the doorway. "Why are you so annoyed?" Caius asked, looking amused. "If I hadn't disguised myself as Sara, then you'd be answering quite a few uncomfortable questions right now."

"You will not use Sara's form again," Kurama ordered.

Caius sighed and shook his head. "You are a prickly one, aren't you? Very well, I won't use Sara's form again. You can come up with your own excuse as to where Sara is the next time that girl comes over. I apologize for ever deciding to help you; I won't do so again."

Caius picked up a guitar case from the ground and brushed past Kurama. A few seconds later Kurama heard the front door open and close.

Kurama scowled. So what if Caius had been helping him? Kurama didn't want his help, didn't want anything at all to do with Caius, unless he was somehow causing Caius's death. But that would kill Shiori, so he couldn't, unfortunately, let Caius die.

Kurama made his way to the front door as well. Perhaps a visit with Sara would help soothe his nerves. He had wanted to check her progress for himself anyways.

* * *

And here is the next chapter of When the Coin Melts, brought to you by Crazy! The next chapter will be up on **August 21.** Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

First of all, let me apologize on bended knee for this late chapter. I'm afraid that I miscalculated the time I will be spending at the college campus (All DAY! Every DAY! One should not stay at school 18 hours a day!). But I know you want to read the chapter, so I'll shut up. Enjoy!

* * *

Yukina surveyed her preparations carefully. The dishes were all lighted up and ready in the kitchen; the cold ones were in the refrigerator. The tea and the dishes were all on the tables, hot and ready to go.

The players were all in place as well.

Hiei was outside with Sara, working on the last mediation of the day. Genki was already gone for the evening, on her walk about the village at the base of the mountain; she liked to walk around and make sure nothing was amiss in the village.

Yukina was grateful for that habit at the moment. She had a plan to accomplish the impossible—arrange a situation where Sara and Hiei had to stay in the same room for at least an hour and a half with no one else, other than Yukina herself, in the room.

Luckily for Yukina, she had the perfect plan. Occasionally she would cook elaborate meals and invite anyone that was at the temple to eat with her.

Therefore Hiei would not even suspect anything abnormal, and he had never to this day refused to eat her food. Yukina suspected it was because Hiei never got to eat home-made for much of his life.

Yukina surveyed the work of her labors once more, double checking everything. She nodded to herself and clapped her hands. Time to put her plan into motion.

* * *

Sara sat peacefully on the training ground. She could hear the birds in the trees and feel a cool breeze blow across her sweat-dampened skin. Working with her abilities was difficult, but being able to do something herself felt . . . euphoric.

She supposed that it helped that mediation, once her most hated part of the training, was now her favorite past-time. It wasn't the _clear-your-mind-of-everything _sort of thing she thought it would be. It was something completely different. It was something she could do to escape, and just exist. There were no troubles in mediation, just her, her power, and what _was_.

Her peaceful mediation was interrupted by a loud clap. She opened her eyes to see Hiei standing in from of her with an annoyed expression on his face. Of course Sara had never seen Hiei without an annoyed or bored expression on his face so she wasn't sure if he had any other expressions.

Living at the temple with Hiei there most the time, at least ever since Monday, was quite the experience—one she could do without. Whenever he looked at her it was with contempt, reminding her of Harold. Unlike Harold though Hiei had never hurt her, except for that one time when Hiei was going through her mind. Even that time was for her own good, at least so Sara thought. Kurama at least trusted Hiei and Sara trusted him above all others, well him and Mrs. Shiori.

Another loud clap interrupted her musing. Hiei stood with his arms crossed, looking very annoyed.

"Sorry," Sara said meekly, ducking her head.

Hiei practically growled at her, "You're pathetic. You can't stay focused and that will get you killed." He stalked off towards the temple.

Sara closed her eyes, trying hard not to let tears come from her eyes. She didn't want Hiei so see her tears; he would think she was even_ more_ pathetic than he already did. An even better reason was she was tired of crying and being so useless. Sara wanted to change for the better, and she knew she could with people like Mrs. Shiori and Kurama helping her, and maybe even loving her.

Sara stood up and brushed the dirt off her back. Her stomach growled; Sara quickly looked around hoping no one heard it. Using her power made her hungry, and she was always a little embarrassed by how much she could eat after training.

Sara went into the temple, where she was quickly met by Yukina.

"Sara!" Yukina chirped, so much like the birds outside, "Please come join Hiei and me for tea and dinner."

Sara hesitated; she didn't want to eat with Hiei, but it would make Yukina happy. And Sara had a lot of practice doing things she didn't want to do.

"Alright Yukina," Sara smiled at Yukina, who quickly smiled and motioned Sara to follow her into the eating area.

As soon as Sara entered, she immediately wished she had changed into something else.

Yukina had set up the room in an elaborate set up, with fancy dishes on the table and the good set of chopsticks.

Sara backed up, but Yukina quickly grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going Sara?"

"Yukina . . ." Sara trailed off.

"Sara, please come eat with us. I made this meal especially for you and Hiei." Yukina looked at her with pleading eyes.

Sara sighed, looking at the table. Hiei was already kneeling at the table, and for a second Sara thought she saw . . . something pass his face, but it was gone before she could really see it.

"Okay Yukina."

Sara sat at the table careful not to move anything Yukina had set up. She set her hands in her lap, nervously twisting them together.

Yukina looked at Hiei and Sara. Her plan was succeeding and all that was lift was the actual finalization, the dinner itself.

Yukina picked up the tea to pour for Hiei and Sara, and was just about to encourage each to begin eating when she heard something in the hall.

"Hello? Sara? Yukina? Hiei?"

Someone was at the temple and Yukina was not happy about it.

* * *

Kurama walked into the temple, looking for any of the people that might be there. He had seen Genkai walking around the village so he knew she wasn't there. However, he could sense Sara, Yukina, and Hiei there.

Yukina's voice called from the eating area, "We're in here Kurama."

Her voice sounded the same as usual, but something sent a warning signal down his spine.

He walked into the dining room to find one of Yukina's elaborate feasts laid out, with the partakers already seated.

"Hello Sara," here he smiled lovingly, "Hiei," he nodded his head to him, "and Yukina," there he smiled happily at her, but he had a bad feeling. And was it starting to become colder in there?

* * *

Koenma sat across from Kuwabara, in Human Realm.

He had come to Kuwabara's house to receive his help infiltrating the Society of Light. There he had found both siblings, Kuwabara doing homework while Shizuru cleaned house.

The first words said had been Shizuru. "What's up with you Koenma? You have a normal human aura."

Koenma had sighed, but was quite pleased—the two's spiritual senses would be quite valuable—as he had said, "Could you let me in first? I'll explain everything."

And so he had. The history of the Society of Light, and just how much danger Kuwabara, and Shizuru, would be in if he accepted the assignment.

Koenma sat beside Botan with baited breathe, watching Kuwabara mulling over the information he had just received. Shizuru stood behind Kuwabara, obviously letting him decide for himself whether to take the assignment or not.

"I'll do it."

* * *

And there you go! The next chapter will be out on **September 4**.


	7. Chapter 7

Warning: There is much fluff in this chapter.

* * *

"Please, Kurama, have a seat," Yukina said.

Kurama said, but he couldn't help but feel unnerved. Yukina was smiling and speaking like normal, but there was definitely something off. Her eyes had an unusual glint, and it was several degrees colder in the room than he thought it should be.

_What did I do?_

Kurama sat down beside Sara, who flushed and smiled happily at him. Yukina quickly retrieved an extra place setting to give to Kurama.

"Everyone enjoy," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

The food was served up in a somewhat awkward silence. It wasn't often that Yukina was in a bad mood, and even rarer for her to be in mood this bad.

"So, Sara, how has your training gone?" Kurama asked.

"Pretty good, I think," she said. "If I'm not distracted, I can stay in my human form for an hour."

"She's distracted easily," Hiei commented.

Sara flinched at Hiei's words, and her tail curled around her waist defensively. Kurama frowned slightly. She needed to work on her concentration then. It wouldn't do for her to get distracted at school and slip back into her real form.

Kurama picked up his cup of tea and almost dropped it. The cup was freezing! Peering inside, he found that his drink had been completely frozen. He sent a sidelong look Yukina's way, but she ignored him completely, concentrating on her food instead.

Obviously, Yukina was upset with Kurama. Why she was upset was not so obvious. All Kurama had done was arrive.

Wait a minute…could it be possible that was why she was mad at him? Because he had come tonight? But that did not make any sense.

"What have I missed at school?" Sara asked.

"Not too much," Kurama said. He didn't mention the newspaper article. That was something best left for a more private time. "I brought your make up work from your teachers."

"Thank you," Sara said. "How are Maya and Kaito doing?"

"Fine, although Maya is quite worried about you," Kurama said. "She may be a bit smothering when you return to school."

Sara giggled. "I won't mind."

They lapsed into silence then. It was difficult to continue a conversation when one had an audience.

Dinner ended quickly, Kurama had lost much of his appetite when his food started freezing to his plate, and Kurama quickly suggested he take Sara for a walk. That suggestion earned him a blast of cold air from Yukina, which Kurama ignored with some difficulty.

They escaped the confines of Genkai's temple, and it was with great relief that Kurama was surrounded by the warm evening air.

"Sara," Kurama said, "do you have any idea why Yukina was so upset during dinner?"

Sara shook her head. "I don't know. She seemed happy enough until you came."

Kurama sighed. "That is what I feared. It seems I have somehow angered her."

"But how?" Sara asked. "You haven't even been here."

Kurama frowned. "I'm not certain. Was she planning anything tonight?"

"Not that I know of," Sara said.

_But she must have been planning something. Her current mood doesn't make sense otherwise._

Kurama carefully thought about the situation. Genkai was gone, so it was only Hiei, Sara and Yukina at the temple. She had fixed a nicer dinner than normal, which she sometimes did for fun, but usually only when Genkai was there. She was upset that Kurama had arrived and interrupted the dinner. She'd also been upset by Kurama asking Sara to come with him on a private walk. She had obviously planned for something to happen tonight, something that Kurama's presence had stopped.

Kurama stopped walking when the thought hit him like a bolt of lightning. Could Yukina have been trying to set Sara and Hiei up?

_But that's impossible! Sara and Hiei can't stand each other, and anyways, Sara's mine._

"Kurama? Is something wrong?"

Kurama looked down into Sara's eyes, and the genuine concern there struck his heart with guilt. Sara wasn't his, not really. He was only pretending. Even so, Hiei was most certainly the wrong person for Sara. What was Yukina thinking?

"I'm fine Sara," Kurama said. "I think I might have figured out why Yukina was upset with me."

"Why?" Sara asked.

"It is nothing for you to worry about," Kurama said quickly. It would be better if Sara never knew what Yukina was trying, and Kurama was going to quickly set Yukina straight on her little plan.

They started walking again, and Kurama led her through the grounds to a spot he was fairly sure that Sara would not have seen yet. It was a small clearing with a large old oak tree in the middle. Flowers were scattered about on the ground, making it a picture perfect scene. Kurama took Sara's hand and led her to the base of the oak tree where they sat down.

Kurama began to gently rub circles on the back of Sara's hand with his thumb, eliciting a blush from Sara, just as he'd expected. "Sara, I've been meaning to talk to you for the past few days, but I haven't been sure how."

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes bright as she watched him. He could hear her heart beat speed up…He could hear her heart beat speed up. His hearing was good, yes, but he shouldn't be able to hear her heart that well. If he were in his kitsune form then yes, but…

Kurama shoved that thought away. He had to concentrate on Sara right now. This was a delicate operation and he could not afford to mess it up right now.

"I suppose I should just come out and say it," Kurama said offering Sara a smile. "Sara I really like you…Will you be my girlfriend?"

A look of joy covered Sara's face, and she fairly glowed with happiness. "Yes," she said breathlessly.

Kurama leaned down and pressed his lips against hers in a slow, gentle kiss. He was somewhat surprised at how much he enjoyed the feeling. Sara's lips were soft, and she smelled so good.

Kurama broke the kiss and Sara snuggled into his side. Kurama slipped an arm around her waist and let his other had run through her hair. He liked the way it looked now that her seal was broken. The dark green mixed with the brown made him think of forests. He reached down and let his fingers glide along her tail, eliciting a pleased purr from Sara.

Kurama didn't even try to stop a smirk from crossing his face. He liked the reactions he could get from Sara. That was when his conscious kicked in and reminded him that this was all a sham.

_But I like being close to Sara,_ he argued with himself, _and she obviously has no qualms with it._

But that did not change the fact that he had no intention of trying to make this relationship last forever, and Kurama knew that the more physical a couple was during their relationship, the more it hurt when the relationship ended. Despite his purposeful deceit, Kurama did not really want to hurt Sara. That meant Kurama would have to limit physical contact as much as he could without looking suspicious.

Kurama stopped petting Sara's tail, and she stirred and looked up at him. "I'm afraid I have to go," Kurama said. "After all, I do have school tomorrow, and I'm sure Genkai will want you up early for training."

Sara's face fell slightly. "I wish you didn't have to go."

Kurama pulled her to her feet. "As soon as you learn to keep a human form, we won't have to be separated."

New determination shown in Sara's eyes, and Kurama realized that this might have the unexpected benefit of helping Sara learn to control her powers quicker. Kurama walked her back to the temple, and caught sight of Yukina sitting on the porch. He didn't have time to talk to Yukina now, but Kurama could still send her a message about what he thought of her plan to try and get Hiei and Sara together.

Kurama leaned down and gave Sara a quick but firm kiss. "I'll see you soon, Sara."

"See you soon," Sara said.

Kurama glanced up at Yukina one last time, and then headed down the stairs. He was sure she would give up any foolish notion of trying to pair Hiei and Sara together now.

* * *

Barago settled down on the roof of the library after it closed. He had spent the last two days there pouring over newspaper articles and researching on the internet. He had finally found a lead, but there was one slight problem. He didn't know how to get where he needed to go.

Barago stared intently at the map he had stolen from the library. "Dang it all, why do humans have to make these maps so confusing?"

Barago finally found the city he was looking for. It didn't look all that far, but Barago had learned the hard way that maps were deceiving when it came to distances.

"I suppose I'll need a car," Barago mused. "Would it be easier to steal enough money to buy a car, or to steal different cars as I travel? Or should I just try my luck hitchhiking?"

Barago decided against hitchhiking. He'd had enough weird experiences doing that in America, most of which he refused to ever speak of again. He decided to steal a car instead.

Barago folded up his map and shoved it in his bag before hopping off the library's roof. He didn't need to sleep, so he might as well get started. He stole a license plate off of a random car in a store parking and then traveled several miles away before targeting another car. He switched the license plates and picked the car door's lock. Once inside the car he easily hot wired it and drove away; in the end, it was all child's play.

At a red light Barago dug out the map from his bag. "Now where does this thing say I should go first?"

* * *

Shiori paced to the window once more to look for Kurama. He wasn't home, and Shiori didn't know where he was. Unfortunately, he didn't have cell phone for Shiori to call and he hadn't left her a note, which was highly inconsiderate of him.

"Oh, where is he?" she wondered aloud for the hundredth time.

Shiori forced herself away from the window. Worrying wouldn't get him home any faster. Needing something to distract her, Shiori started in on a cleaning frenzy.

Eventually, Shiori heard the front door open. She flew to the front hall, "Shuichi!" She stopped when she saw it wasn't Kurama after all. "Oh, it's you."

Caius raised an eyebrow. "So glad to see you're excited at my return."

Shiori blushed; mildly embarrassed that she'd been so rude. But it was hard to be excited to see Caius when she was worried about Kurama.

"Shuichi isn't home yet," she said defensively.

Caius's head tilted to the side. "Hm."

Shiori frowned. "You know something."

Caius walked inside and settled in the recliner in the living room. It was strange to see him sitting there. That had been Hatori's chair when he was alive. Neither Shiori nor Kurama used it even now, when Hatori had been dead for all these years.

Caius was different from Hatori, even if you ignored that fact that Caius wasn't human. Hatori had been open and honest where Caius was cunning and manipulative; Hatori had been simple and unassuming where Caius practically radiated mystery and confidence. The two men couldn't have been more different, and somehow it didn't seem quite right for Caius to sit in Hatori's chair.

"I believe from the conversation I had with him this afternoon that Kurama was going to visit Sara," Caius said. He paused for a moment. "What's bothering you, Shiori?"

It was foolish to feel so upset about a chair after Hatori had been dead for eleven years. She had already mourned and moved on. Why did Caius sitting there matter so much? She didn't know, but somehow, it did.

"That's Hatori's chair," Shiori finally said.

Caius didn't say anything, and he didn't move out of the chair like Shiori wanted. He just sat there and watched her.

"Move," Shiori ordered, feeling both upset and foolish.

Caius slowly stood and moved to sit on the couch. His eyes never left Shiori's face the whole time. Once he had moved Shiori whirled around and went up the stairs to her room.

* * *

Caius sighed and laid his head back on the couch when Shiori was gone. He was taking second place to a dead man, and it bothered him.

He understood that Shiori was a mother, so of course Kurama would always come first for her; he even understood that Sara with her helpless nature would be more important than him. But to lose to a dead man? That was just insulting.

It was the nature of Caius's people to be jealous of their bond's attention, much in the way a small child is jealous of their parent's attention. As much as it revolted Caius to admit it, that jealous instinct was part of the reason why he'd disliked Jezebel as much as he had; she'd purposely tried to distract Jack from Caius.

Caius didn't necessarily want Shiori to forget about her dead husband, but Caius did want to be important to her, which he apparently wasn't. She never thought about him, never considered him in anything, and Caius didn't know if he could stand that much longer.

_She will think of me, one way or another._

Caius got to his feet and stalked up the stairs. He stopped in front of Shiori's door, and after a short mental debate, knocked. Shiori opened the door a moment later. She had changed into her pajamas, baggy pants and an equally baggy shirt; typical mom pajamas. Caius made a mental note to get her something nicer in the future. It would be amusing to see her reaction to that.

"Did you want something?" she asked with a frown.

"A meal would be nice," Caius said.

"Oh, right," Shiori said and held her hand out for him to take. Caius wouldn't let her get away with that sort of brush off, not tonight.

Caius took her hand in his and gently kissed the back of it. Then he flipped her hand over and kissed her wrist. "C-Caius, what do you think you're doing?" Shiori demanded.

Caius yanked her into his arms. "What do you think?" he asked with a smirk, and then he kissed her with the same passion he had used that night he'd kidnapped Shiori.

"Ahem."

_Curse that kitsune and his awful timing!_

Shiori jerked away from Caius and looked over at Kurama. Caius's only consolation was that Kurama looked as mad as Caius felt.

"Erm, welcome home, Shuichi," Shiori said, her face nearly as red as the kitsune's hair.

Kurama leveled a glare at the both of them, and then brushed past without saying a word. In a bout of what Caius was willing to bet was Kurama's only childish fit of anger, he slammed his bedroom door shut.

"Caius," Shiori said quietly, "don't do that again."

Caius studied her. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do," Shiori said.

Caius didn't try to hide his smirk. "No you don't. I can tell." Before Shiori could respond, Caius left and went into Sara's room. Once there, his smirk widened to a grin. Despite Kurama's annoying interruption, Caius felt he had achieved his purpose. Shiori would definitely be thinking about him tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

Barago looked around at the crossroads he was stopped at. _Which way to turn?_ He pulled up the map again, studied it and cursed. He gave the map a quarter turn and studied it intently again. Barago looked at the worn signs indicating which road was which.

_Well that's just great! None of the roads here is the one I'm supposed to be on!_ Barago slammed a hand down on the seat beside him in a fit of temper—then looked guiltily at the new holes in the seat.

_Oh well, not like its mine!_ However, he did have a problem. He had no idea how to find the city and just could not figure out this country's map—well to be honest it did take him around seven years to understand the American maps.

A problem requires a solution however, one that he needed to come up with and quick if he ever wanted to go home again with his lost family member.

Barago pulled the car to the side and got out. He needed to think and he always thought better in the open air. He sat down beside the car, using it as a backrest. He stared up at the night sky, so different from his home sky, but one he had grown used to over the years and now felt strangely comforting at times.

The grass around Barago's legs began curling over his legs, whispering comforts to him. He smiled sadly and softly petted them. The plants at least hadn't changed from world to world. No matter where he went, there were always plants to comfort him, eager to speak to a kitsune . . . Barago froze. The plants would know how to find a kitsune! He was sure that his sister was here and Japan wasn't that big, not like America was.

Barago stood with determination and went to find the tulips.

* * *

Shiori lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. A sudden image of Caius pooped up in her head. Shiori growled and grabbed the pillow beside her, muffling her angry yell. Not only had Caius kissed her again—after she had told him not too, but Shuichi had seen it!

Her face burned as she turned to around to lie on her stomach. The way Caius had kissed her . . . It made her insides feel like twisting lava and her knees give way. Not even Hatori's kisses had done that to her. Yes, she loved him with all her heart, but he had been a gentle man. Their passion had been a slow-burning fire, given to much cuddling.

As she had already noticed today, Caius was the complete opposite of Hatori. Though why she was comparing Caius to Hatori was beyond her . . ._No, it's not Shiori and you know it!_ She scolded herself. _ Woman, tell yourself the truth!_

It was true that Caius was an attractive man, with his sharp features and long black hair . . . Shiori yelled into her pillow again. It would seem that she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

She slipped out her bed and made her way downstairs as quiet as she could be. Since she couldn't sleep, she might as well start packing up the things in the office so they could turn it into a room for Caius.

* * *

"_Run my child run!" his mother's hands pushed him ahead of her, "Keep running and don't look back!" He listened to his mother then, for about five seconds. When he heard the same furious snarl come from his mother that he heard come from his father when they had fled the house, he looked back. _

_He saw his mother facing the human hunters chasing them; saw her fall to a cursed arrow. With a cry he turned forward and ran and ran—_

_The world was falling apart around him, the sky was on fire, burning, burning, everything was burning. Then everything was pulled apart—_

_The arrow pieced his heart, so much like the one that ended his mother's life. He bared his teeth silently. NO! He would not die here, not like this. He had lived through too much, __**survived **__ too much to die now. So he fled again ran and ran. Into the lightless void and across worlds, into a new life . . ._

He awoke with a cry.

* * *

Shiori stopped mid-packing. Was that a cry she had heard?

She cocked her head, listening. There is was again, and it sounded like Shuichi!

Shiori dropped the file of folders and ran up the stairs, hearing another cry, this one with more savagery behind it.

She opened the door and was shocked to see Shuichi jump up at the sound of the door opening, his eyes glowing gold and teeth bared.

"Shuichi? " She whispered. It was her son, not Yoko; he had red hair and the same height as a normal human, but his eyes . . .

She started to go forward, to comfort him from whatever nightmare he had woken up from, but a hand on her arm restrained her. She glanced sharply back to see it was Caius stopping her.

"Let me go!"

"Don't go to him, not yet. I don't believe that he is quite in this world yet. He could hurt you accidentally."

Shiori glared at him. "He is my son!"

She ripped her arm away from his hand and stepped slowly towards Shuichi.

"Shuichi? Can you hear me?" She watched his head tilt to the side. She carefully extended a hand towards him. Slowly the gold faded from his eyes, regaining their vibrant green.

"Mother?" came his strained whisper.

She darted forward and hugged him. "Shush, shush it's okay. I have you." She felt Caius leave the area.

Shuichi leaned against her, returning the hug, then sat on the side of his bed. Shiori joined him there, keeping an arm firmly around his shoulders.

"Are you okay sweet heart?"

He turned towards her, "I'm okay Mother. I was just dreaming of the past . . ." He trailed off, worrying Shiori even more.

"What? What is it?"

"I was dreaming of _Yoko's_ past, his nightmares."

* * *

"It is time, my brothers and sisters."

"It is time."

"Time for the Society to begin the Great Hunt once more."

"The Great Hunt."

"Time for humans to destroy the demons of the worlds."

"Destroy the demons."

"Time to hunt. Time to kill. Time for humans to rule _supreme_!"

"SUPREME!"

* * *

And here it is the next chapter of When the Coin Melts! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be out on **October 2**.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurama sighed when his alarm clock went off. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and really wasn't looking forward to going to school that day. If only it wasn't a Thursday…

Kurama forced himself to get up out of bed and start his morning routine. He still couldn't shake the memories he had dreamed. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it scared him that he had dreamed of Yoko's memories. Such a thing had never happened to him before. He and Yoko were separate; they didn't unconsciously share things like this.

Also frightening was the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Yoko to respond to him. He and Yoko might not have talked often, but whenever Kurama had tried to reach him he'd always been able to do so.

Something was happening inside of him, Kurama just wasn't sure what it was. This uncertainty was not a good thing, and he resolved to see Koenma about as soon as possible.

Kurama finished dressing at that point and went downstairs. He didn't see either Caius or Shiori as he made his way to the kitchen, and their absence served to remind him of the scene he'd walked in on the night before. He'd almost forgotten about it in the wake of his dreams.

Anger curled in his stomach again as the image of Shiori wrapped up in Caius's arms came to mind. What was Shiori thinking, letting Caius do that? It was just wrong on so many levels.

He made himself a breakfast of an apple and toast, and was just finishing up when Shiori walked in the kitchen with a large cardboard box in her arms. Kurama instantly hopped up to set the box on the table for her; annoyed or not, Kurama wasn't going to quit being helpful to her.

"Thank you, Shuichi," Shiori said.

"What is this, Mother?" Kurama asked, glancing in the box. He stilled when he recognized the items that had belonged to his human father.

"I'm cleaning out Hatori's office," Shiori said quietly. "After all, Caius is staying here now, and he's going to need his own room once Sara comes back. I'll probably donate most of it, but I thought I should let you go through it first, in case there was anything you wanted in there."

Kurama gently picked up one of Hatori's old books, not really seeing the cover. He had never been close to his human father, a fact that sometimes made him feel guilty, but not one that he ever really thought about. Hatori had died when Kurama was only six, and at that time he had felt little more than contempt for his human parents. Despite the pain that Shiori had gone through, Kurama had felt nothing.

No, it certainly wasn't for Hatori's sake that Kurama resented Caius moving in. "I don't want him here, Mother," Kurama finally said.

"I know you don't," Shiori said, "but I don't see any other choice. With this bond in place, Caius needs me; without me, he would die. Is that really what you want?"

_Yes, _Kurama thought viciously. Caius had needlessly endangered Shiori's life, and then had had the gall to bond to her without Kurama's permission. Now, he was seeking a place of importance in Shiori's life, and Kurama didn't want him there.

But could he really say that to Shiori? Could he tell her that he wanted another person to die? Shiori wanted to know him, but she wouldn't be pleased if Kurama answered honestly. No, she'd be horrified.

Shiori's face had paled slightly. Did she understand what he had said through his silence?

"I need to go to school, Mother," Kurama said.

"Okay," Shiori said softly. "We'll talk later."

Kurama left then, walking swiftly towards his school. He wasn't much in the mood to go, and briefly considered skipping, but then he remembered Beni, and how Kaito, Maya and he were supposed to find a way to get revenge for what she'd done to Sara.

Kurama couldn't help but smirk at the thought. _I'm going to enjoy tormenting someone today._

Kurama froze as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Where had that come from? Granted he wasn't above vengeance, but he didn't relish hurting others…Did he?

_I'm being followed._

Kurama didn't need to look back to know that it was the neighbor kid, Ashja, following him again. Kurama wasn't in a mood to play with him this morning. Kurama picked up his speed just a little bit, and turned the corner. Once around the corner, he turned and waited for Ashja to appear.

It was only seconds later that Ashja peeked around the corner and froze when he saw Kurama standing there. He recovered unexpectedly quick, coming around the corner with a bright, if nervous, smile. "Good morning, Minamino," he said.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Is there a particular reason you're following me, Ashja?"

Ashja managed a fairly good innocent act. "Following you? I'm not following you. My middle school is in this direction."

"Is it, now?" Kurama asked. The boy didn't look like he was lying. Quite probably, his school really was near Kurama's, but Ashja had definitely been following him, whether the boy would admit it or not.

"Yes it is," Ashja said.

"Then why the camera?" Kurama asked.

"I'm in training be a photographer," Ashja said. "I have to keep it with me always, in case the chance for a good photograph shows up."

A plausible explanation, if not one that Kurama fully believed. Kurama smiled pleasantly. "If we are going in the same direction then how about we walk together?"

Kurama had been expecting Ashja to get nervous, or perhaps try to come up with a reason to say no, but Ashja actually looked excited at the idea. "Really? Cool!"

Ashja briskly started walking, leaving a bemused Kurama to follow. "So, who's that guy that moved into your house? And what happened to the girl who was staying there?"

"Excuse me?" Kurama asked sharply, sending Ashja a look.

Ashja rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I guess that was a bit nosy. I just couldn't help but notice, since we live right next door and all…"

Yes, the neighbors would have noticed who was coming in and out of their house all the time. It only made sense that they'd eventually ask questions, but Kurama hadn't thought of any stories to tell curious neighbors, though he dreaded to think what they would come up with on their own.

"It's a private matter," Kurama finally said.

"Oh, okay," Ashja said. "Sorry I asked then."

They walked in silence a few moments until Ashja spoke up again. "Hey, I was wondering…um well, I have to do this project for school, where they want us to take pictures of flowers and stuff, so I thought, well, would it be okay for me to take pictures of your garden this afternoon?"

Had it not been for Ashja's actions yesterday, Kurama would have agreed without a second thought. As it was, he paused and considered before slowly nodding his head. "I don't see why not."

Ashja grinned great big. "Sweet! Thanks a bunch, Minamino! Well, this is where we go different ways. I'll see you this afternoon."

Kurama watched him go. He hadn't sensed any sort of malicious vibes from Ashja…So what was it that Ashja wanted?

Kurama had little time to think about it, however, because just then Maya and Kaito walked up, Maya looking especially excited.

"The journalism club came through," Maya said cheerfully, waving a folder in the air.

"What did they find?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know, I haven't looked through it yet," Maya said.

"She refused until we were all together," Kaito added.

Maya opened the folder and started flipping through the pages. "Hm, it looks like their sources said that Beni's parents are workaholics and never home. Oh, wow, Beni's grades are atrocious. It looks like the teachers are threatening to hold her back a year if she doesn't pick them up."

"Hah, that'd be a good one," Kaito said. "If we could get copies of her report card, we could post that all over school and see how she feels about it."

Maya stopped walking and snapped the folder shut. "Guys, we can't do this."

"Why not?" Kurama asked. "It's what she did to Sara."

"That's exactly it," Maya said. "What Beni did to Sara was awful, and if we do the same thing in retaliation…Well, we'd be just as wrong as Beni."

Kurama frowned. He didn't quite agree with Maya, but if it was going to upset her, they'd find another way of getting revenge.

"What are we supposed to do now, then?" asked Kaito.

Maya shrugged, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I have no idea."

"I have an idea," Kurama said, a smirk slowly spreading across his face.

"What?" Kaito asked.

Kurama resumed walking. "I've always wanted to tell off my fan club."

Butterflies danced in Beni's stomach as she made her way to Shuichi's home room after school ended. He had given her a note that afternoon at lunch, asking to meet with her and the highest ranking members of the club, but he hadn't said why he wanted to meet them.

"What do you think he wants to talk about?" Ari asked quietly.

"I bet he wants to tell us how he dropped Sara after finding out what a loser she is," Aiko replied.

"One can only hope," Beni murmured. She paused in front of the classroom door. Inside, waiting just for them, was Shuichi.

The butterflies turned into jumping rabbits as Beni opened the door and stepped inside. There he was, the glorious Shuichi himself. He was standing with his back to the door, staring out the window. He didn't move as the girls shut the door and took a few steps closer to him.

"Shuichi?" Beni said. "You wanted to talk to us?"

"It was not a desire," Shuichi said, not turning around, "but a necessity."

_What?_

"Tell me, why do you girls like me so much, you would start a fan club?"

Beni glanced at the girls, who seemed to be waiting for her to speak. "Well, because you're an amazing person. You're handsome, and smart, and kind to everyone you meet."

Beni paused when Shuichi's shoulders started to shake, and she realized he was laughing at her.

_Why is he laughing at me?_ Beni thought, feeling hurt.

Shuichi turned to face them finally, and Beni almost wished he hadn't. He was smiling, but it was the coldest smile Beni had ever seen. "Handsome and smart I'll grant you," Shuichi said, "but kind? Not hardly."

"You are," Beni said.

"I'm not," Shuichi interrupted her. "Sure, I'm polite, but politeness does not equal kindness. Tell me Beni, have you ever seen me go out of my way to help anyone other than Maya, Sara, or Kaito?"

Beni opened her mouth to reply, but had to close it again. When she really stopped to think about it, no, she couldn't remember any such moment.

"You see, Beni, I'm a very selfish person," Shuichi said. "I only care about myself, and my few close friends."

_No. I don't want to hear this._

"And you dared to attack one of my friends," Shuichi said, his voice deepening with anger. "No, you dared to attack my girlfriend. I will never forgive you for that."

Through her shock, Beni dimly noticed that Ari and Aiko were hiding behind her at this point.

"As of now, I am disbanding the Shuichi Minamino fan club," Shuichi said. "If any of you try to keep it going, then I will personally see to it that your lives are turned into a living Hell."

Shuichi brushed past them, heading for the door.

_No. No, I can't let it end like this!_

Beni whirled around and yelled, "No! Why are you doing this, Shuichi? You're not like this! You're not cruel, you're good and kind and loving!"

Shuichi paused at the door and looked back. "You don't know me at all Beni. The one you love doesn't exist."

So saying, he left them. Tears finally made their way down her face; sinking to her knees, Beni could do nothing about her broken heart but cry.

* * *

Kope everyone enjoyed the chapter brought to you by Crazy! Remember the next update will be **October 16.**


	10. Chapter 10

Kuwabara hung up the phone; he had just finished calling Kurama and telling him to meet at the temple that afternoon. Well, more precisely he had called Kurama's house and spoken to Mrs. M. Apparently he had called too late to catch Kurama before he left for school. But Mrs. M said she would leave a message for Kurama for when he came home from school.

Kuwabara had told Yusuke about the meeting when he had seen him yesterday. Yusuke had pressed for details, but Kuwabara had told him he would have to wait along with the rest of the group.

"Let's see," Kuwabara said, counting to himself, "I told Yusuke and Kurama. Hiei is at Genkai's already, so is Sara and Yukina." He smiled, thinking about the ice maiden. Yukina was . . . so sweet, kind, and- BAM!

"Stop day-dreaming little brother," Shizuru said, calmly walking away with the newspaper under her arm.

Kuwabara rubbed his head, scowling. His sister was so evil at time! Then again, she was going to be helping him in the mission.

"Sis?" he called after her.

"What?" she turned so he could just see the cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"You'll be careful right? If you get pulled into this mission?"

Shizuru snorted, pulling the cigarette out and exhaling a puff of smoke, "I'll be fine little brother. I've been taking care of myself for far longer than you've been alive."

Kuwabara nodded; his sister was tough as diamond and could very well take care of herself. She also had a better sense for spiritual things then he did, and could most likely get out of the way of any trouble long before it reached her.

"Good."

* * *

Trees flashed by outside the bus window. Kuwabara could see his reflection dimly in the window, but that was ignored in favor of trying to count as many of the trees going by as he could until his eyes lost count.

"Last stop," the bus driver called over the screech of bus brakes.

"Finally," Kuwabara mumbled. He exited the bus, and then glanced around instinctively, searching for any danger. He laughed to himself when he realized what he was doing.

"I've become paranoid through the years," he said aloud to himself. "And this new mission doesn't help that at all," he added more quietly.

He eyed the long path up the steps to the temple; everyone else should already have already arrived—that is if Kurama received his message.

Kuwabara began climbing the long stairs.

* * *

Sara sat, quivering with anticipation. Kurama was coming today! At least that was what Yusuke said when he arrived earlier this morning.

Yusuke had skipped school this morning and instead had come to the temple. He said it was because Kuwabara called a meeting, but the glint in Genkai's eyes said she didn't believe him. She then proceeded to put Yusuke through a torturous training exercise.

Sara was glad Genkai had, because otherwise Yusuke would have been watching her train. And while she had improved—she could now stay in her human form for three hours—Sara wasn't ready for even more people criticizing her. Not that she thought Yusuke was the type to, but Sara was still a shy person.

Then Koenma and Botan had shown up after lunchtime, proving the truth of Yusuke's tale.

Genkai had given Sara the rest of the day off, as they had guests, for which she was very grateful for.

Now they were just waiting for Kurama and Kuwabara to arrive. Yusuke had tried to wheedle the reason for the meeting out of Koenma, who had flatly refused to say anything until the last two arrived.

Sara was worried about the appearance of Koenma, last time she had met him it meant that the ultimate evil in the world was about to be loosened, courtesy of her death. However, it meant that Kurama was coming!

She could show him how much she had improved in the couple of days since he had visited and maybe spend some time alone with him.

So here she was, sitting on the front steps of the temple waiting for him to walk up. Everyone already there was arranged on the veranda behind her, quietly chatting, except for Hiei of course.

Sara saw red hair peek over the top of the last stair. She held her breathe, hoping. Then let it all go in one big rush. The hair was too short to be Kurama.

"Kuwabara's here," she called to the group behind her.

A commotion arose behind her, with Yusuke jumping up and yelling, "Finally!"

Koenma stood as well, "Now we are just waiting on Kurama."

"I wonder where he is." Botan asked, "Shouldn't he be here by now?"

Kuwabara reached the temple, "Everyone here yet?"

"No," Genkai answered, "We are waiting on the kitsune now."

Hiei stood up, "He's here."

Sara whipped around to look at the stairs, but she couldn't see anyone coming up them.

She continued looking around, "Where…" Then she saw him drop from a tree at the outer limit of the yard. Sara almost began to walk towards him, but restrained herself. She seemed to remember listening to other girls talk in school about how a girl shouldn't seem too eager to see a guy.

"Dude," Yusuke said astonished, "Did he walk all the way here?"

"Doesn't matter," Koenma stated matter-of-factly, "let's get started."

Kurama finally reached them at the temple. Sara caught his eye and smiled at him, elated when he returned the smile. Kurama reached her side and reached out to hold her hand. Sara's smiled widened.

The group assembled in the courtyard of the temple.

Koenma took his place at the front of the group. "Alright guys, I'm afraid that I have bad news for you again."

"Aw, man," Yusuke groaned, "Didn't we just save the world? Give us a break!"

"Shut up Yusuke," Kuwabara flatly said.

Yusuke quickly turned to look at him, expecting a sneer and a fight. However, something he saw in Kuwabara face made him pause, and turn to face Koenma again. "Well, what are you waiting on? Go ahead and tell us what's happening."

Koenma sighed but continued, "There is a group that is trying to exterminate, or enslave, all demons. This group, known as the Society of Light-"

Koenma was cut off abruptly by sounds from the demons in the group. Yukina had gasped, hand held to her mouth. Hiei had no emotion on his face, as usual, but his hand was near to his sword. Kurama had also not moved, but his body tensed, and Sara could feel his hand slowly tightening around hers.

Koenma continued after he was sure no one was going to interrupt, "I can see that the legends of the Society have not quite died out in the Demon World."

"Legends?" Kurama asked quietly, "I lived through that time. There are still a number of demons that remember the massacre and the following blood shed by humans and demons."

Koenma cleared his throat, a little disquieted by Kurama reference of _I_, before it was always Yoko, "Anyways, the thing that the humans in the group need to know is that the Society was doing their best to accomplish their goal when the war between the Guardian and Jack ripped the world into thirds," Sara felt a shiver run through Kurama, "leaving them no demons to fight. I had hoped that the Society would have died out by now, but I have recently received word that they are regrouping. The removal of the net between the Human World and Demon World and the subsequent influx of demons has apparently been exactly what they needed to revive."

Koenma glanced around, checking that everyone was still listening, "Now I have no way to gather more information about the Society, as they are an extremely paranoid group, full of spiritually aware humans that would sense anyone I could send to gather information. Therefore, I have decided that Kuwabara will be going undercover as a spy in the Society."

Surprisingly it was Yukina that spoke up. "No! You can't send Kazuma into that! The Society is horrible…they'll kill him!"

Koenma turned to her, "Yukina, he took this assignment of his own free will."

Yukina turned to Kuwabara, "Kazuma . . ."

"Don't worry about me," Kuwabara said, "I'll be fine. These people have to be stopped. They want to hurt innocent people, people like you."

Sara watched Yukina and Kuwabara stare into each other's eyes; she glanced at Kurama's face, expecting to see the same sorrow she felt portrayed there, but his face might as well have been a mask.

_He looks like a statue_; she thought to herself,_ how can he be so unfeeling?_

Koenma's voice jerked her back into the conversation, "Now that that's settled, I have to tell the rest of you some rules."

Sara knew she must have missed whatever else had passed between Yukina and Kuwabara.

"You must all act as though you are not close friends with Kuwabara. This is especially important for you Yusuke. You look human enough, but if anyone in the Society got close to you, they would immediately know you were part demon. You may continue your rivalry, as that is too well known to escape the Society when they start checking out Kuwabara's past."

"What will be his cover story?" Kurama asked.

Koenma nodded to Kuwabara, "Why don't you tell them?"

Kuwabara stood up and replaced Koenma at the front of the group. "I will be a normal human that lives with my sister; both of us have always had unusually strong sense of spirits and danger. However one day, I and my sister were attacked by a demon in the woods. I was so desperate to survive and protect my sister, that I called forth my spirit sword and killed the demon."

Kurama nodded, "A good blend of truth and lies."

"How are you going to attract their attention?" Hiei asked, "One does not simply find the Society."

"I usually keep a tight hold on my energy, but in the next few days I'm going to let that slip. It will call a few demons to me, but it will also call any spiritually aware human as well. They should have people out looking for new members, especially if they are planning something big."

Yusuke scratched his head, "Won't they know about us though? I mean the demons know all about us. Won't they learn of us from the demons?"

Koenma shook his head, "No. The Society will not talk to the demons; just kill them immediately, unless they are low-level ones, which they will try to enslave. Those demons would never tell them anything though; the hatred between demons and the Society is too deep. They will have no way of knowing about any of you . . . except of course for Kurama. They will still remember the name Yoko Kurama."

Heads turned to look at Kurama.

"What did you do to them, Kurama?" Yusuke asked, "And how old are you anyways?"

"They were trying to kill me Yusuke, what do you think I did to them?" Kurama asked with a slight sneer. "As for how old I am—has no one told you that's impolite?"

From Yusuke's snort, Sara was willing to bet not.

Koenma interrupted before Yusuke could reply, "That's all I can tell you guys now. Just be ready for anything at all times."

The group immediately began to chat to each other about the information just given.

Sara felt Kurama tug her hand, and turned to face him.

"Sara, I have to speak to Koenma for a moment. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Sure, I'll wait right here."

Sara watched Kurama walking towards Koenma, a little disappointed that he didn't want to speak to her first. _But it's probably really important, whatever it is_, she consoled herself with.

* * *

Kurama approached Koenma, his thoughts unsettled with the knowledge just received. However, he had other things that he needed to speak to Koenma about, so he pushed those to the side for the moment.

"Koenma, could I speak to you for a minute?" He interrupted Koenma's conversation with Genkai.

"Of course." They stepped to the side of the courtyard, away from everyone else.

"What's going on?"

In a low voice Kurama explained the happening of the last several days—the dreams he shouldn't be having, the odd feelings and thoughts he would have occasionally, never any specifics of course, just the fact they were happening. He ended with the one thing that's been worrying him the most.

"The worst thing is, no matter how hard I try, Yoko never responds to anything. He stays silent."

Koenma thought for a few minutes, "Kurama, you are the longest demon we know of to coexist with a human host. The other few demons that have accomplished the same thing you did all left as soon as their power returned to them. They also ripped out of the human shell they were in, killing any human remains. You, you have been in human form for a very long time. You are also a very old, powerful demon. A human body is not made to withstand that. Maybe your power is changing your human body to endure better."

Kurama narrowed his eyes, "But it's not that simple it is? Otherwise Yoko would still be responding."

Koenma let out a long sigh, "No, I don't think it is. I think that you and Yoko are melding, becoming one creature."

Kurama let out a hiss, "How long?"

"You are the first I know for this to happen to," Koenma spread his hands wide. "I don't know."

* * *

Yay! It's on time! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next update on **October 30**.


	11. Chapter 11

Kuwabara left while Kurama was still talking to Koenma, saying he had a lot of homework to do that night, and Yusuke went with him not wanting to have to make the ride back alone. Hiei disappeared somewhere, Sara wasn't sure where nor did she overly care, and once they were gone, Genkai and Yukina both retreated back inside, leaving Sara and Botan out on the porch.

"How have you been this week?" Botan asked Sara.

Sara looked away from Koenma and Kurama. "Good. Master Genkai is a hard teacher, but I've been learning a lot."

Botan smiled. "I'm glad. Do you think you'll be able to go back home next week?"

"I hope so," Sara said. "I can hold my human form for three hours, but I've got to keep it up longer than that if I'm going to go to school."

"Oh, you've missed a week now, haven't you?" Botan asked. "You're going to have a lot of makeup work to do."

Sara shrugged; she'd missed a week of school before so the idea of a week's worth of work didn't overly bother her. "I can do it."

Koenma Kurama finished talking and walked over to where Sara and Botan were sitting. "Are you ready to go, Botan?" Koenma asked.

"Yup," Botan said hopping up from her seat. "I'll see you later, Sara, Kurama!"

Botan and Koenma disappeared then, and Kurama claimed Botan's seat beside Sara. Sara looked up at his face and was concerned to see his frown. Unless Sara missed her guess, Kurama's talk with Koenma hadn't gone well.

"Is something bothering you?" Sara asked. If something was wrong, she wanted to do what she could to help, although she didn't know what that might be.

"Yes," Kurama said, "but it's nothing for you to worry about."

Sara frowned. Though not exactly unexpected, that wasn't quite the answer she'd hoped for. "I'd like to help," she offered hesitantly.

Kurama smiled at her. "There's nothing anyone can do, I'm afraid. But thank you for your concern."

Sara leaned against him silently, wishing she could do more for him. But Kurama wasn't elaborating about his problem, and Sara wouldn't push him to talk. That wouldn't stop her from wondering about it though. She had a feeling that Kurama's problem had something to do with the silver streaks that had been left in his hair after he had changed into his kitsune form, but she didn't dare ask. He'd tell her when he was ready for he to know.

"How is your training coming along?" Kurama asked.

"Good," Sara said. "I can keep my human form for three hours now."

Kurama smiled at her, and Sara felt her body flush with pleasure at his approval. "Good. Hopefully you'll be able to come back home soon then."

"I want to," Sara said wistfully. As much as she liked Genkai and Yukina, it wasn't the same as living in the Minamino household. "How is your mother?"

Kurama's smile faltered slightly. "Mother is fine."

Sara frowned. "But?"

"She's cleaning out Father's office to give Caius his own room," Kurama said, his smile completely gone then.

"Oh," Sara said, not sure how she felt about that piece of news. The thought of living with Caius frightened her after everything she'd been through. She unconsciously pressed closer to Kurama's side and her tail curled around him. "But he's on our side now, isn't he?" Sara asked, as much to reassure herself as anything else.

"That's not what concerns me," Kurama replied.

Sara considered this. Kurama wasn't worried that Caius would turn on them; rather he was worried about Shiori. He wasn't worried that Caius would hurt Shiori, so what was it then that bothered him? Was he worried that Shiori would fall for Caius?

That was definitely a weird thought, but Sara supposed it could happen. After all, Shiori and Caius were bonded now. But even if Shiori did fall in love with Caius, it wasn't like it would change how much Shiori cared about Kurama; Shiori had a big enough heart to love many people. Anyways, it wasn't guaranteed that Shiori and Caius would ever become anything more than friends.

"She won't stop loving you, even if Caius stays there," Sara said quietly, hoping it was the right thing to say. Kurama looked at her sharply, but didn't speak. "Shiori loves you a lot and she won't let anything get in the way of that."

"He endangered her," Kurama snapped.

Sara flinched a bit at his tone. "I don't like Caius…but I don't think he would have let anyone hurt her."

"I will not accept Caius as a part of Mother's life," Kurama all but growled.

Sara looked down. She felt an attitude like that would only cause trouble in the long run, but there was no way she'd say anything of the sort at the moment.

Kurama sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sara. I don't mean to snap at you. This is a sore subject for me."

"I won't talk about it," Sara promised.

"Thank you," Kurama said. "I need to go now, Mother is expecting me home. Both of us will come visit you Saturday."

Sara perked up at the thought of seeing Kurama again so soon, and at the thought of seeing Shiori. Shiori hadn't been able to visit all week. "I can't wait," she said with a smile.

Kurama smiled at her as well, and leaning down he gave her a quick kiss. Sara had to stop herself from purring with happiness; she was really getting to enjoy these quick kisses he gave her.

Kurama left then and Sara went back inside. Despite the looming threat of the Society of Light, Sara couldn't help but feel happy and safe. Surely with Kurama near, nothing bad at all could happen to her.

* * *

Barago carefully circled the old two story house. The house was in a sorry state of disrepair, looking as though it hadn't been lived in for years. Still, according to what the tulips had told him, a kitsune had lived here until very recently.

_I wonder if I'm at the wrong house. There is no way any kitsune would let their garden be in such a bad state._

It was possible he'd gotten lost again, but Barago figured he ought to at least check the house out. It was but the work of moments to unlock the back door and slip inside. Once inside Barago explored the first floor of the house. The whole place was filthy, reeking of alcohol and unwashed human bodies.

Barago wrinkled his nose. _I must have the wrong house._

Then, near the stairs, Barago caught a scent that was both familiar and strange. It wasn't his sister's scent, it wasn't even that of a kitsune…but it still smelled like his sister, or like she might have smelled if she'd been human. Barago followed the scent upstairs and to a bedroom. It was the only room in the whole house that was actually clean, but the layer of dust in the room said the owner of it hadn't been here for a while. Barago lifted the blankets from the bed and inhaled deeply of the scent rooted there.

It could be Kyoko's scent…after all, she would have had to disguise herself as a human while she was here, and that would have changed the way she smelled. But why would she have stayed here of all places? It didn't take a genius to figure out that the humans who had been living here weren't any good.

"Little sister, what have you gotten yourself into?" Barago mumbled to himself.

Whatever it was, Barago was going to get her out and take her home. She'd been gone for long enough. Now he just needed to go to where she was living now.

* * *

When Kurama got back home, he was surprised to find Ashja conversing with Shiori in the front yard. "Welcome back, Shuichi," Shiori called cheerfully.

"Hello," Kurama replied. "What are you doing here?" he asked Ashja.

"You said I could take pictures of your garden, remember?" Ashja said. "I've been here all afternoon."

"Oh, of course," Kurama said. The events of that morning had completely slipped his mind.

"I think I've got all that I need now though, so I'd better head in," Ashja said. "Thanks for letting me take pictures of your garden, and thanks for the snack, Mrs. Minamino."

Shiori smiled and ruffled Ashja's hair. "Anytime Ashja. Don't forget, I want to see how those pictures turn out."

"I'll bring them by," Ashja promised. "Good night!"

Ashja dashed off to his house while Kurama and Shiori went inside their house.

"What happened at your meeting?" Shiori asked.

"Koenma has another mission for us," Kurama said.

Shiori frowned. "Already? It's only been a week."

Kurama shrugged. "It can't be helped."

"What do you have to do?" Shiori asked.

"Nothing for the moment," Kurama said. "The trouble is a group of humans with psychic powers. They want to wipe out or enslave yokai. Kuwabara is going to try and infiltrate their group in order to spy for us. We shall see what we need to do from there."

Shiori frowned, looking worried. This was a part of why Kurama hadn't wanted Shiori to know about his double life; he didn't want to upset her.

"It will be fine Mother," Kurama said. "Everything will work out alright."

"I hope so," Shiori said. "How's Sara doing?"

"She's fine," Kurama said. "She's looking forward to seeing us Saturday."

Shiori smiled. "I'm looking forward to that too." There was a pause in the conversation. "Shuichi, we need to talk about Caius."

Kurama didn't try to keep from scowling. Unless the talk involved the words leaving and now, Kurama didn't really want to hear it.

Whatever Shiori planned to say was lost however when the doorbell rang. Shiori let out a frustrated sigh and headed to the door; Kurama followed not too far behind to see who was at the door.

Shiori opened the door and they saw a man standing on the stoop. The man looked to be in his thirties, with long brown hair pulled back into a pony tail, bright green eyes, and a lean build. Kurama was certain that he'd never seen the man before, but he somehow looked familiar.

"Can I help you sir?" Shiori asked.

The man smiled dashingly, a mark of disapproval in Kurama's book at the moment. "I hope so, ma'am. I'm looking for someone, and I was told I might find her here. You wouldn't happen to know a woman named Kyoko, would you?"

Kyoko. That was Sara's mother's name. Then Kurama realized why the man looked familiar. He looked like Sara, and the ghost of Kyoko that Kurama had met in Spirit World. But this man felt completely human; Kurama couldn't feel any kind of yoki from him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone named Kyoko," Shiori said.

"I do," Kurama said, gaining the attention of both adults. "But she might not be the one you're looking for."

"I'll have to be the judge of that," the man said. "Could you tell me where to find her?"

"I can only give you a general area, not the exact place," Kurama said, "but you would have better luck asking Koenma." If this man was a kitsune related to Kyoko, then he would recognize Koenma's name. If he was only a human and this was all some strange coincidence, then Kurama could just make something up to get rid of him.

The man's eyes narrowed. It seemed he did know Koenma's name.

Kurama moved forward to position himself between Shiori and the man, not sure what would happen next.

"Tell me," the man said, "why the Prince of the Spirit World should know anything about her."

"Perhaps because that's where she's living now," Kurama replied.

The man tensed, and said, "Explain."

"Perhaps we ought to continue this conversation inside," Shiori said.

Kurama didn't want to invite him inside; as far as he was concerned, this conversation was best save for the outside, where Kurama had a larger variety of weapons available to his disposal, if the need arose.

_Want me to bight him? _Mokie offered.

_No, we can't have that right now. Besides, if he is related to Kyoko, this shouldn't really come to a fight._

It shouldn't, but Kurama still didn't like the thought of inviting the man into his house. Too late now; Shiori had led the way to the living room. Kurama followed grumpily. Once there, the man turned to stare at both of them intently.

"Now tell me; what exactly happened to Kyoko?"

* * *

Ashja moved away from his window once the stranger went inside with the Minamino's. Ashja wondered who the man was, and why he'd gone over there.

_A pity I don't have listening devices as well as super cool cameras. Ah well, these pictures I took of them all should be interesting at least._


	12. Chapter 12

"Now tell me; what exactly happened to Kyoko?"

Kurama crossed his arms; he wasn't going to tell this man anything without information about the man himself.

"First of all, what is your name and relation to Kyoko?"

The man swung his eyes to look at Kurama, slightly surprised; he had been looking more at the adult in the room.

"My name is Barago, and Kyoko is my sister."

A gasp came from his mother, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Shiori didn't know the full details of Sara's mother's death, but Shiori did know that she had died.

"What? What happened to my sister?"

Kurama's eyes narrowed; a kitsune was he? It seemed that he was very good at transformations, to keep himself hidden from Kurama's senses like that.

Shiori spoke before Kurama could inform the man of the unfortunate news. "Perhaps we should have a seat in the living room? This news could be . . . painful."

Barago glared at her, causing Kurama to tense in preparation for an attack. "What happened to_ my sister_?" he growled out.

"I regret to inform you that she has passed from this world, at the hand of a human man." Kurama said clearly; his mother had no idea about the family ties of a kitsune clan and that delaying news of harm coming to one would only anger the clan member.

"Who?" Barago spat with hatred.

"He has already been taken care of."

The distraught kitsune sank down onto the couch. "I was too late, if only I had come a little sooner. . ." he groaned into his hands.

Kurama saw his mother hurry to the kitchen out the corner of his eye, going to get tea to comfort the man most likely.

"That would not have helped, as she has been dead for more than a decade."

Barago's head shot up, "Over a decade! But I smelled her blood, recently spilled, in a house not too far from here."

Kurama sat in a chair opposite him, "Allow me to tell you the story as I know it." His mother sat a tea tray down on the coffee table and sat in another chair. She too would hear the tale of Kyoko in its entirety for the first time.

So Kurama told the sad tragedy of Kyoko, of her arrival in human world, the excitement of meeting Harold—the man she fell deeply in love with, the disaster that followed their wedding—the gambling and despicable people he began to associate with, the birth of her baby girl—the sealing of the baby's demon side and the unveiling of the truth she was no longer able to hide.

The man killed her in a rage after finding out she wasn't human, but was unable to bring himself to kill the child left behind.

After Kurama's voice faded away, Barago shook himself, "She had a child; where is my niece?"

"Your niece is safe." He cut Barago off before he could say anything, "No, I will not tell you where. It is late and there are people there that would not take kindly to a demon showing up late in the night. We will go Saturday." Kurama needed time to think, to plan, this was not something he had expected.

"Saturday? Why must we wait that long?"

_Because I said so_, he nearly snarled, but held himself in. "How do you think that she would react if someone out the blue showed up, claiming to be her uncle? She is very delicate, trusting only a few." He gestured to himself and Shiori, "We happened to be much of that few."

"Very well, till Saturday then." Barago stood, Kurama and Shiori stood with him.

"Do you have somewhere to stay Mr. Barago?" Shiori asked, her eyes red from crying through the tale.

"Umm," Barago was noticeably confused, "No, I was just going to sleep in the forest."

Shiori looked scandalized, "You can't sleep in the woods! Why don't you sleep here? You can have the couch, and stay here until Saturday."

Kurama sighed silently; of course his mother would ask a complete stranger to stay.

"Oh, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" Shiori dropped into a bow, "I am Minamino Shiori." She straightened and looked expectedly at Kurama.

He bowed, "I am Minamino Shuichi," he paused, "also known by the name Yoko Kurama."

"But he died! That's impossible."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, "True. I did die, but I was able to find a new life. How long were you looking for Kyoko if you don't know about my return?"

"For ten years at least, most of it in America." He eyed Kurama, "Very well, I will stay here. Thank you for your kind offer. It will be nice, at least, to be around another kitsune."

Shiori clapped her hands together, "Good, now why don't we eat supper?" She turned to go towards the kitchen, "Oh and tonight, another man will be coming in a pretty late; don't worry about him."

Kurama followed his mother and Barago into the kitchen, wondering exactly how his mother was so skilled at picking up strays.

* * *

Caius came in the front door, around three in the morning, reeking of smoke and beer.

He was tired and wanted nothing more than to get a shower and go to sleep. But he couldn't, there was something wrong in the house. Was that someone sleeping on the couch?

He crossed the room on silent feet. Yes, there was someone sleeping there—his ears caught the sound of him breathing, then a sudden change in the sound.

The man leaped up, and Caius leaped back. They stared at each other for a moment, neither moving.

"I'm going to assume that if you are here and alive, Kurama deemed you 'safe'."

"Yes, I was warned by Shiori that you would be coming in as well." The man wrinkled his nose, "She didn't mention that you would reek, or be a demon."

Caius didn't react to the jab, "Oh? You are not too human yourself, are you?"

"No. I would be a kitsune, uncle to Sara."

_Oh,_ Caius thought,_ this should get very interesting. He will want to take her to live with the clan. Wonder how Kurama will react to that?_ This could even make Kurama stop focusing on him so much and maybe give Caius more time with Shiori.

_But,_ another thought struck him,_ the kitsunes will be teaming up against me._ As soon as this kitsune caught whiff of Kurama's dislike of Caius, he would jump on the bandwagon. It was just how kitsunes were, the most tight-knit of all demon races, especially when alone in human world.

He would deal with that when it happened though.

"Caius."

"Barago."

* * *

Mokie sat outside, pouting. Sara's tulip, Scarlett, was copying him in his actions.

"I didn't get to bite anyone!"

"I haven't seen ma kitsune in ages!"

Mokie turned to the little tulip, "My friend, they are ignoring us. So busy running around that they have completely forgotten about us, their faithful friends!"

"Hear, hear!" Scarlett chimed in.

"I think that it's time we make them remember us!"

A bush joined in from the other side of the yard, "Tell me about it! Kurama doesn't even seem to be thinking about us when he's watering us."

The tulip bed jumped in, "He didn't fertilize us! Nor is he telling us everything . . . he talked to Koenma about something really important!"

Mokie looked insulted, "He didn't tell me! That's it! No one ignores Mokie!"

He drew Scarlett close to him, and gestured to the other plants, "Here's what we're going to do . . ."

As he outlined his plan, Mokie thought,_ Kurama __**will**__ introduce me to Mother!_

_

* * *

_The council sat around a large table. They were planning out everything in detail.

"The first order of business is to increase our numbers. There's no way we can wage war without more members, and better trained ones."

The person at the head of the table nodded, "This is true. Diamo! You are in charge of searching for the spiritually aware. With the path to the demon world open again, I'm sure that more humans have been developing spiritual powers, and they will be looking for a way to stop the monsters that are coming through, planning to eat our families."

"Yes, ma'am. I will carry out your order with honor and efficiency." A young man with a shaved head responded.

"Thank you. Now as for training, Masti, you are in charge of that I believe?"

"Yep," a big man rumbled, "me and Shaya here." A petite woman nodded next to him.

"And how is that progressing?"

"Pretty well. They are advancing at a quick en—"Shaya elbowed Masti, causing him wince.

"Don't listen to him. All the recruits we are training now only have enough spiritual energy to make themselves move faster and hit harder. They could take down lower class demons, but the really big ones would eat them alive. We need stronger recruits."

The leader nodded her head again, "We will work to remedy this. The last order of business will be to locate the path to the demon world. Nomi and Noma, this will be your job. Once you locate it we will begin to guard it. The demons coming through must be stopped."

The twins sitting next to each other nodded. "Will do!" they shouted together.

"Good. Thank you all for your hard work. Soon we will eradicate the demon menace and humans will truly reign supreme."

* * *

Sorry it's late! Hope you enjoyed. Remember next update will be on **December 4**.


	13. Chapter 13

Shiori hummed to herself as she got breakfast ready. It was actually kind of nice to cook for a larger than normal crowd. _If only they all thought it was going to be nice to eat together._

She did wish she knew of some way to end the animosity between Caius and Kurama. If they were going to live together they needed to at least be civil to each other; Shiori was tired of the glares and nearly palpable animosity between the two. And of course Barago probably wasn't going to be good company either; not that Shiori could blame the man. He'd just found out his sister was dead after all.

Shiori sighed; her good mood all but vanished. _What wouldn't I give to have a cheerful morning in this house?_

"Good morning."

Shiori looked behind her to see Barago coming in the kitchen; his clothes were mussed from sleep, and his long hair was untied, falling loose to his waist. "Good morning. Breakfast is almost ready."

The man pushed his hair back out of the way. "Anything I can do to help?"

Shiori smiled at him. "No, but thank you for the offer."

Shiori set the food on the table just as Kurama came down the stairs, Caius following several feet behind. "Just in time, breakfast is ready."

"Sorry Mother, but I can't stay to eat this morning," Kurama said starting for the door.

Caius sat down at the table with Barago, and Shiori almost missed the glare Kurama sent Caius's way. Shiori frowned. So that was why Kurama didn't want to eat breakfast with them.

"Shuichi Minamino, you sit down right now," Shiori snapped.

Kurama froze, looking at her with surprise that he quickly covered with his usual composed expression. It wasn't often that Shiori used that tone on him. Kurama slowly moved to the table and sat, as far away from Caius as he could physically get.

Shiori took her own seat, and filled her plate with food. The men copied her actions, an awkward silence between them. Well, Shiori could live with that. What was important was that they were all here.

"…"

Okay, no, she couldn't handle the tension filled silence. "Alright, enough is enough!"

The three men looked at her with equal measures of surprise and confusion.

"I am sick and tired of all this tension between you two," she said, pointing at Kurama and then Caius. "I don't care if you two hate each other, I can't stand living with all this tension and anger! We are going to talk this out until you two can at least be in the same room without glaring at each other."

Barago pushed his chair back from the table. "Er, I think I'm going to excuse myself."

Shiori let him escape the room; after all, it didn't really have anything to do with him.

"Mother, I have to leave soon for school," Kurama started, but Shiori wasn't letting him get away with that excuse.

"You're grades are perfect; being late one time isn't going to hurt you," Shiori snapped. "Now you two are going to explain to me why you hate each other. Shuichi, you go first."

Kurama closed his eyes and sighed. "If you insist. The reason I dislike Caius is because he put you in danger needlessly, and he hurt Sara by breaking her seal early. There is also the fact that he forced his way into our lives without permission."

"Shiori was never in any danger when she was with me, despite appearances," Caius said. "No one knew I had her there, and I never for a moment left her unprotected. I did what I did to Sara because I had to keep Jack believing I was working for him. As for your last complaint…Would you have asked for permission to leave Jack's side? Bonding with Shiori was the only chance I had to be free of him, and I won't apologize for taking advantage of that."

Kurama glowered at him, apparently not satisfied by Caius's explanations. Shiori bit back a sigh; why did Kurama have to be so stubborn? How could she convince him that Caius was acceptable?

"Shuichi," she said softly, "like it or not, Caius is a part of the family now. I'm not asking you to be his friend, but I am asking you to accept the fact that this situation is permanent. It would really help me if I didn't feel like I was walking on eggshells every time you two were in the same room as each other."

Kurama looked away unhappily. "I will try Mother," he finally said.

Shiori looked at Caius then. "Okay, your turn; what's your problem with Shuichi?"

Caius leaned back in his chair. "Actually, I don't hate your son; I don't even dislike him. I'm jealous of him."

Shiori and Kurama both stared. "You are what?" Kurama asked.

"I'm jealous," Caius said with a wry smile. "It is the habit of my people to want the full attention of their bond; obviously since Kurama is your son, he gets the majority of your attention. I know that is simply the way things are going to be, and I accept that, but I don't like it." He shrugged. "I suppose you could say I feel left out."

"Is that why you…" Shiori trailed off, her cheeks warming up. _Get a grip woman! You've been married before; you can say words like kiss._

Caius grinned. "Randomly kiss you? Yes, that would be it."

_Okay, what's a way to pacify Caius and his attention needs?_

"If you and I do something every Saturday night, just the two of us, would that take care of your jealousy?" Shiori asked.

Caius's grin shifted just the tinniest bit making it seem predatory, but not frightening. No, it was predatory in a way that made Shiori's heart flutter and insides heat up. The sight of Kurama's scowl doused those feelings quick enough.

"That sounds good to me," Caius said.

Shiori was pretty sure it didn't sound good to Kurama. _Think Shiori, do some kind of damage control; Kurama won't take this well if he feels like Caius is winning._

"If it makes you feel better, you can stalk us anytime you want," Shiori said to Kurama, earning her a long suffering look from Caius, but a small smile from Kurama, which was what she was going for. She reached over and squeezed Kurama's hand. "I promise you will know exactly where we are going and what we are doing, okay?"

Kurama nodded. "Very well."

Shiori smiled, feeling satisfied. It might not be all better yet, but it was a start.

"If you're done with your talk, I have a question."

Startled, Shiori looked up to see Barago leaning in the doorway, looking decidedly not happy. "Yes?" she asked.

Barago glared at Caius. "What did you do to my niece exactly?"

_Oh. Oh dear._

* * *

Caius managed, if only just, to keep the smile from slipping off of his face, even though what he wanted to do was bury his face in his hands and groan. If Barago had to find out about what he'd done to Sara, Caius would have preferred it not happen in this manner.

At this point however, Caius figured complete honesty would be the best tactic. "I was employed by an evil maniac who ordered me to kidnap Sara, and break the seal that Kyoko had placed on her. Doing so was unfortunately painful for her, but the pain was only temporary, and had no lasting negative effect on her."

Barago's expression darkened. Perhaps complete honesty wasn't going to be helpful after all.

"The matter has already been taken care of," Kurama said, surprising everyone.

"And who are you to decide such a thing?" Barago snapped.

"I am the one who has been taking care of Sara while you were not here," Kurama said. "If I say the matter is closed, then it is closed."

Barago didn't look happy, but he didn't argue any more. Caius eyed Kurama warily, still surprised by the kitsune's defense; perhaps there was hope for this relationship after all.

* * *

Kuwabara was relieved when the school day finally came to an end for him. It was tiring to purposely let his energy slip, only just a bit and no more. It required a delicate balance; he had to let out just enough to let people feel his power, but he had to make it seem like he was weaker than he actually was, like he'd never been trained before. It was much easier to keep a lid on all of his energy like he normally did.

_It's only until we've finished dealing with the Society of Light problem._

But how long would that take? Kuwabara couldn't help but think that a group that had been around and long as this one wouldn't be easy to take down.

Kuwabara sighed as he paused at a crosswalk, waiting for it to be safe to cross. For once, it'd be nice if the world could just stay safe for a while; Kuwabara liked it when it was peaceful. Sue he enjoyed fighting, but Kuwabara was getting tired of fighting for his life. He'd been doing this for years now, but it wasn't what he wanted to do forever.

_No time for thinking like that; I've got to get through this mission, and to do that I need to stay sharp._

Speaking of…it seemed like someone was following him. Kuwabara glanced unobtrusively behind to see if he could catch sight of the person. He couldn't see anyone, but he could sense someone following him.

The power was human, not yokai. At this point, that could only mean one thing. The Society of Light had found him. Now Kuwabara just had to wait for them to make their move.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Remember, stop by and let us know what you think! Next update will be on **December 25**. And since school is out for a month (a whole month! YAY!) it should be a pretty good Christmas gift for you guys!


	14. Chapter 14

Kurama left his classroom wearily. Today had been a long day, a very long day. First had been that discussion at breakfast, where his mother at forced him to agree to be civil to Caius. He didn't _want_ to be civil to Caius! Caius had threatened, had _hurt_ his mother by kidnapping her.

He forced himself to calm down, feeling a silent snarl beginning to form on his lips. There was no need to become angry, there was nothing he could do about the situation. It was easier to hold in the uncustomary anger now that he knew what was fueling it.

Combining with Yoko . . . Kurama had no idea what the final result would be, but he knew what to expect now at least; heightened senses, increased instincts—especially the desire to protect the family.

The day hadn't even gotten better from that discussion, but instead had gone down-hill from there. There were the repercussions to deal with from the talk he had with Beni the previous day.

She had gone through the school day looking like a wraith, moping about with a slightly desperate look to her. Beni's groupies had gathered around her all day, looking just as sad, but not so heart-broken. Everyone at the school was dying to know what at happened to them, but all reports from the rumor mill—courtesy of Maya—said that Beni and the group had told no one what had happened.

At lunch Kurama, Kaito, and Maya had discussed the possibility of someone connecting the sudden depression with Kurama.

"Do you think anyone will figure out you finally told them off Shuichi?" Maya has asked Kurama.

Kaito had answered for him, "Of course they will. How could they not? People will notice when the fan club stopped their freakish obsession, and are no longer staring like love-struck cows at Shuichi."

Kurama had folded his hands in front of him, "Kaito is right of course. People will notice, but I couldn't care less of people do know it I told them off. I'm sick of people idolizing me that I don't even know. It's our last school year here, I'm not putting up with it any longer."

Maya had raised her hand in a fist "Hear, hear!"

That had been the end of that subject in the conversation, but Kurama did not think that the whole subject at the school would close that easily.

Now he was heading home, where he would have to deal with Caius and Barago. Hopefully Caius had already left for work. Barago wasn't that bad to deal with; he after all was a kitsune like himself. Mother was probably already home, and he would have to keep to his promise of dealing with Caius.

Great. . .

* * *

Kuwabara walked through the park, deciding that his follower might approach him if he was in a less crowded area.

"Excuse me!" a yell from behind him caught his attention. Kuwabara turned to see a man, maybe a couple of years older than him, running up behind him.

"Yeah?"

The young man stopped and caught his breath; his bald head gleaming in the sun. "Hey, I think you and I should have a talk."

Kuwabara made himself tense up and his voice a little nervous, "Oh yeah? About what?"

The man stared at him, "I think you know already. About the things that come out of the dark and you do what you have to, to survive and keep your loved ones safe."

Kuwabara dropped his shoulders, "W-what do you know about that?"

The man walked away. "Follow me," he called over his shoulder.

_And here I go_, Kuwabara thought to himself, _got to do this right_.

He followed the man deeper in the trees at the park, until they came to a clearing.

"This place will do nicely." The man turned to face Kuwabara. "My name is Daimo, and I'm here to help you."

"Kuwabara."

"Now, I can tell you have used your spirit energy before, to fight off demons."

"What can you know about that? How can you know?"

"You bear the scars on your soul."

The man paced in front of him, "Can you tell me of your experience? I promise I will explain everything after."

Kuwabara nodded. "It was late. My sister and I were walking back to our apartment from a friend's house. In the dark, we couldn't see- we didn't know. It came at us, almost got my sister, but I-I did something. It died." He stared at his hands, "I killed it."

Diamo nodded, "My experience was very similar, but I wasn't able to stop it in time. S-she was killed."

A sad look stole over his face and Kuwabara felt a twang of sympathy in his heart. "These creatures, these demons, have found a way into our world and they want to devour every single human on this planet."

He looked at Kuwabara, his face hard now, "Allow me to tell you a story. Once there were two intelligent species on Earth; demons and humans." He smiled bitterly, "These demons treated the humans as cattle, eating and terrorizing whenever they wanted. There wasn't any way to stop them, until one day a group of humans gained power, spiritual power that could stop them. These humans banded together, formed a group dedicated to stopping the demons."

"What was the group called?"

"The Society of Light. They found ways to stop and even kill the demons if they had enough power."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"We want you to join us. You could help us stop the demons before they kill everyone."

"Me? But I don't have much power. I mean, I could barely stop the one from killing me and my sister!"

"We will train you; you may not know it Kuwabara, but I sense great potential from you, a great spiritual power that will be influential in the war to come."

Kuwabara shifted his weight, "I don't know, I mean, yeah I always have been able to sense things and I have spoken with a master or two of spiritual powers, but a war? I have a sister to take care of."

"Yes, and this is the best way to take care of her. If we don't stop the demons, then no one will and your sister will be another victim, just like my love was."

Kuwabara bowed his head, appearing to think, then lifted his head, "Alright, I'll join."

Daimo clashed his hand, "Good to have you aboard, my friend."

Kuwabara smiled, "Good to be aboard."

_Step 1. Infiltrate the Society. Check!

* * *

_

Ashja ran home after school, as fast as he could. Last night he had developed the pictures he had taken of the Minamino's garden and their strange vistor. He had hung them up to dry, and now they should finally be ready for viewing.

He ran full speed inside the house. He shouted a quick "Hi Mom!", and then ran straight up to his room.

The picures were hung in his dark room, and with careful hands he examined each one. The pictures of the garden were all normal, nothing spectacular in them. Then he reached the pictures he had taken though his window of the man.

Ashja's eyes widened. The man had cat ears! And a cat tail! At least Ashja thought it was cat parts; it could have been a different animal. Ashja decided to name the man Cat-man until he had a name for him.

Looking closer at the man's hair—which was really long by the way, down to his waist at least—he could see there was some green, that wasn't there in real life.

"Wow, this is so cool!"

* * *

"It's four in the morning, time to move out!" Mokie whispered-yelled to the other plants.

The plants that could move crept in the house and closed every blind and window curtain; no need for the neighbors to see what was going to happen after all!

The ones that couldn't move, for the most part could cast illusions. They would cast an illusion over the yard to make it seem like nothing out the ordinary was happening.

Mokie was personally very proud of his plan. It was guaranteed to make Kurama notice them again and Mokie would finally be able to meet Shiori!

"Alright, everything closed down? Good. Now cover everything. Including the new kitsune and Caius. Be very careful not to wake them, and if they start waking up, well the go-sleepy plants know what to do right?"

The dream pollen plants nodded and shook their blooms threateningly, "We got it covered Mokie!"

"Good, now go forth my brethren and multiply! I mean, go forth and grow!" Mokie turned to the small tulip beside him, "Ready to go Scarlett?"

"Ready and raring!"

Mokie and Scarlett were the plants going to Kurama's room, the most dangerous room of all. However, Mokie was confident that Kurama wouldn't react to Mokie's energy at all; after all Mokie has been by Kurama's side for most of long life. And Mokie's energy would cover's little Scarlett's energy quite well.

Mokie entered and quickly expanded, filling the room and creating long vines, perfect for tying someone to a bed . . .

He quickly wrapped several vines around the bed, but was careful not to tighten them, at least not yet.

"Now all we have to do Scarlett, is wait and rant when he wakes up!"

* * *

AN- So, we thought we'd have plenty of time to write over the break. Yeah, not so much. We had more time to write when we were at college. So not fair. Hopefully the next one will be up on time.


	15. Chapter 15

Kurama yawned and stretched when he woke up Saturday morning; or at least, he tried to stretch. The moment he moved, something tightened around his body, effectively trapping Kurama in his bed.

Kurama's eyes flew open, and he stared up into Mokie's scowling face. "What are you doing?" Kurama growled.

"The better question is what are you doing," Mokie said.

"And where's mah kitsune?" Scarlett demanded, peering at Kurama from behind Mokie.

"You've been ignoring me, I mean, us, for too long now," Mokie said. "Us plants won't stand for it anymore! I, I mean we, demand some quality time with you."

Kurama closed his eyes, trying to summon up the will power needed to not yell at Mokie. After all, he didn't want to wake up Shiori while this was going on. Come to think of it, he didn't want to wake Caius and Barago either; it would be humiliating for them to see him like this. That thought was all he needed to ensure he'd speak quietly.

"Mokie," Kurama said, "in case you haven't noticed, I've been very busy lately."

"That's no excuse for ignoring those closest to you," Mokie declared.

Kurama didn't really consider the plants, other than Mokie maybe, to be his closest friends, but there was no point in explaining that to Mokie. But Kurama had a feeling Mokie didn't care all that much about whether or not Kurama spent time with the other plants in his garden; Mokie was far too self centered. Mokie was upset because Kurama hadn't been spending time with Mokie.

"And I want to meet Mother!" Mokie demanded.

"You want what?" Kurama asked.

"I want to meet Mother," Mokie said. "I think I deserve that at least."

At this point there really wasn't a good reason not to introduce Mokie to Shiori; however, Kurama was far to annoyed with Mokie to give in right now.

_And this is the other reason I never wanted to plant Mokie in the garden. My plants would never have done something like this without Mokie encouraging it._

"Mokie, untie me right now and go back to the garden peacefully, and I might not yank off all of your leaves later," Kurama growled.

Mokie wilted a bit at the thought of his leaves being plucked. It was one of the few threats that actually worked on him. But this time he showed his determination was stronger than his fear. "I won't!" Mokie declared. "Not until you agree to our demands! We want you to promise to spend more time with us, I want to meet Mother, and we want to know what you talked to Koenma about!"

"And Ah want mah kitsune!" Scarlett added for good measure.

Kurama glared at them. "No."

* * *

When Shiori woke up, she had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Her room was covered in plant; they covered the floor, the walls, her dresser. The only thing in the room not covered in plants was Shiori's bed.

_Stay calm, Shiori. There must be a reasonable explanation for this. I just have no idea what it might be._

Whatever was going on, Shiori was sure Shuichi was at fault. After all, he was the only one in the house who could control plants…Unless Barago could. Was the plant thing something all kitsunes did, or just some of them?

_Now is not the time for questions. You need to get to Shuichi_.

But that meant she'd have to step on the floor, and Shoiri really didn't want to do that. Screwing up her courage, Shoiri gingerly placed one foot on the floor. When she did, the plants moved out of the way.

_Do not freak out over the moving plants. Do not._

Shiori slowly walked out of her room, and wherever she stepped the plants would move out of her way. Looking back, Shiori saw that the plants had covered her bed once she was out of it. Shiori made it to the hallway without a problem, and saw that it was covered just as her room had been. It was probably safe to guess the whole house was like this.

_I hope everyone's okay._

Shiori went to Shuichi's room and froze in the doorway. Shuichi had been tied to his bed by…a talking rose bush? And it looked like they were arguing with each other. The sight would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying.

"Mokie, this is your last warning," Shuichi said.

"Unless you're saying what I want to hear, I'm not listening!" the rose, Mokie apparently, said.

"What's going on here?" Shiori demanded, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

Shuichi and Mokie both turned their heads to look at Shiori. Or at least, Shiori thought the rose was looking at her; it didn't have any eyes, but it did have a large mouth with lots and lots of sharp, pointy teeth.

At the sight of her, the plant started bouncing up and down. "It's Mother!"

That wasn't exactly what Shiori had been expecting. "Er, hello. Who are you?"

"I am the great and powerful Mokie!" the plant said, puffing itself up. "I have been Kurama's companion for…" The plant paused here and looked at Shuichi. "How long now?"

Shuichi closed his eyes with a look of long suffering. "Nine thousand nine hundred and twenty six years too long."

Mokie nodded. "That's right, nine thousand…Hey!"

"I see," Shiori said. "Well Mokie, could you possibly let Shuichi go and send the other plants back to the garden?"

"Not yet," Mokie said. "Kurama is keeping secrets, and I won't let him go until he tells. He talked to Koenma about something really important, but he won't tell me what it was!"

Shiori looked at Shuichi, who was definitely glaring at Mokie now. More secrets? How many did her son have? And if he had talked about them to Koenma . . . Her only meeting with him hadn't lasted long, but Shiori knew that Koenma was an important person.

"Shuichi," Shiori said quietly. "Please tell me what's going on."

Shuichi's green eyes turned back to her, and with a sigh, he nodded. "Very well, I'll tell you. You'd have to find out eventually anyways."

Shiori crossed her arms, bracing herself for the news that was coming.

"I have noticed some…oddities in myself lately," Shuichi said. "Besides my hair getting silver streaks, I've been moody; more possessive, and my temper has been worse. My hearing has gotten sharper as well. Then of course there is the fact that I have been dreaming about Yoko's memories lately. These things shouldn't be happening, so I spoke to Koenma. He said that Yoko's spirit has existed within my body much longer than it should have, longer than any other yokai who's done this before. Koenma says that Yoko's spirit is mixing with mine; we are becoming one creature."

Shiori stood frozen, trying to process what Shuichi was telling her. Sifting it through her mind, Shiori could only come up with one conclusion.

_Yoko is stealing my baby from me again._

She had forgiven Yoko for hiding his soul within Shuichi, forgiven him for all the dangers that had happened to Shuichi because Yoko had joined him, forgiven the fact that she had never been able to know her son because of Yoko, forgiven the fact that Shuichi had never needed her because of Yoko. She had forgiven him and accepted him as a part of Shuichi, thinking that it could be a new beginning, and that she could get to know both of them.

Now she'd never get to know her son, and _it wasn't fair._

But Shiori couldn't say that to Shuichi. The whole reason he hadn't told her about Yoko and his dual life was because he'd feared that she wouldn't love him anymore, and these feelings of hurt and resentment would strike all too close to rejection in Shuichi's mind, Shiori was sure. But she wasn't rejecting him, not really. This wasn't Shuichi's fault; it was Yoko's. But Yoko was a part of Shuichi, and becoming more a part of him with each passing day.

And who was Yoko anyways? Shiori didn't know him any more than she knew Shuichi. She had spent all of what, fifteen minutes tops in his company? Thinking back to those minutes she'd spent with him, Shiori remembered the cruel way he'd wanted to leave Caius injured, and his admitting to the fact that in his life he'd been a thief and a murderer. How would such a soul influence Shuichi?

There had to be more to Yoko than that though. After all, he'd planned to leave her and he hadn't. He'd said it was because of Shiori's love that he'd stayed, so that meant there had to be a good side to this Yoko, right? Shiori wanted, needed, that to be true. She needed to know more about Yoko, but how could she ask Shuichi?

_Caius,_ Shiori thought. _Caius will be able to tell me about him, or Barago._

Shiori resolved in her heart to ask them the first chance she got when Shuichi was around to hear. She'd also have to do it out of Mokie's hearing, she realized, because Mokie would be sure to tell Shuichi she'd been asking about Yoko.

Realizing she needed to say something, Shiori said, "Oh. Well. That's…unexpected."

Shuichi's green eyes, eyes that were far too old for a seventeen year old, stared at her solemnly, and Shiori wondered how many of her secret thoughts he had guessed. Wanting to distract him from that, she said, "Mokie, would you let him go now?"

"Okay," Mokie said, and his vines uncurled from the bed and shrank back until his looked like a fairly normal rose bush.

Shuichi sat up and promptly yanked several leaves off of Mokie.

"Oww!" Mokie cried. "What was that for?"

"For tying me to the bed," Shuichi said. And then he yanked some more leaves off of Mokie.

Mokie lunged off the bed and wrapped himself around Shiori's legs. "Mother, Kurama's picking on me!"

Shiori held back a groan; she wasn't going to have to baby the plant now, was she? "Shuichi, stop pulling off Mokie's leaves. Mokie, I want you to get all of the other plants back in the garden, and make sure they stay there, got it?" Another thought occurred to her. "And where are Barago and Caius?"

Mokie fidgeted a little, as if he knew Shiori probably wouldn't like what he was about to say. "The go sleepy plants made them go sleepy."

Shiori looked up to the ceiling, praying for patience. "Mokie, you are not allowed to drug guests."

"Technically Caius isn't a guest 'cause he's going to be living here," Mokie pointed out.

"You are not allowed to drug members of the household either," Shiori said.

Mokie seemed to sulk a little. "Fine."

Shuichi glared at Mokie.

"I mean, yes Mother, it won't happen again, Mother," Mokie hastily amended.

"Good," Shiori said. "Now get busy."

Mokie picked up a small tulip and ushered the other plants out of the house, which was a strange sight indeed. Shiori looked over at Shuichi. "How long will it be before Barago and Caius wake up?"

"Probably an hour or two," he said, finally climbing out of his bed. "We may as well get ready for the day while they're still out."

"Okay," Shiori agreed. "By the way," Shiori added with a smile, "good morning."

* * *

Ashja woke earlier than usual that Saturday morning in order to catch a new episode of his favorite cartoon. It had just gone off when he happened to look outside the window and see one of the strangest things he had ever seen. Plants were pouring out of the Minamino's house, and planting themselves in the garden.

Ashja stared for a moment with his jaw hanging before he recovered his wits enough to yell, "Mom, Dad, come quick!"

"What is it, Ashja?" his mom called from the kitchen.

"Come here, you've got to see this!" Ashja yelled, pressing his face up to the glass. Why, oh why didn't he have his camera with him?

Ashja heard his parents coming and looked back at them to see expressions of patient amusement on their faces. "What is it?" his dad asked.

What was it? Why'd they even have to ask? Ashja looked back out the window, and realized that the plants had stopped moving. The Minamino's yard looked as normal as it always did. "It's gone," Ashja said, disappointment rushing through him.

"Well, what was it?" his mom asked.

"Nothing," Ashja said glumly. There was no way his parents would believe him. "It's not important now."

Ashja headed upstairs to his room, wishing he could tell his parents about all the weird stuff going on with the Minamino's. He'd tried to show his mom the picture of their house in ruins, but she hadn't been able to see it 'cause they'd erased her memories somehow.

_Wait, picture…I can show them the picture of the cat dude!_

Ashja rushed to his dark room and grabbed the pictures he'd taken the of the cat dude and started down to show his parents. Surely they'd be able to see this; no one had messed with their memories about it after all.

Before he made it all the way down the stairs, Ashja heard his mom's voice from the kitchen. "Honey, I'm getting worried about Ashja."

"What for?" Dad asked.

"The way he's been watching the Minamino's. Don't tell me you haven't noticed. All he does is stare at their house and take pictures of it. It can't be healthy," Mom said.

"Ashja's a growing boy," Dad said, not sounding concerned. "He's probably just got a crush on that red headed girl that lives over there."

There was a moment of silence.

"Honey."

"Yes dear?"

"Shuichi's a boy."

"…Oh…Are you sure?"

Mom sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."

Another moment of silence.

"Does Ashja know he's a boy?"

Mom sighed again. "Yes, dear, Ashja knows. Didn't Shuichi's school uniform tip you off that he's a boy?"

"I didn't think it was possible for a boy to look that girly," Dad said defensively. Another moment of silence, in which Mom probably gave him the look. "So, Ashja probably doesn't have a crush on him," Dad said finally. "Okay, that would make him taking pictures of their house weird."

"Do you think we should maybe restrict his picture taking?" Mom asked, to Ashja's immense horror.

"Nah," Dad said. "He's probably going through a phase where he's pretending to be a spy or something. Ashja will give it up soon. If he doesn't, we'll have a talk with him, see what's up."

Ashja crept back up the stairs then, all intentions of showing them the picture gone. After hearing this conversation, Ashja doubted his parents would take well to seeing the photo of some random guy on the Minamino's door step. He'd also have to be much more careful about his picture taking from now on. There was no way he was going to let his parents stop him from taking pictures.

_I'll have to hide the scrapbook too,_ Ashja thought.

He had started putting together a scrapbook of the pictures he was taking of the Minamino's. It didn't have much right now, just the pictures of their house when it was torn up, and of the alley where Minamino had disappeared. He hadn't planned to put the pictures of their garden in there, but after what he'd seen this morning, they were going in. That garden was not normal, at all. And of course, the picture of the cat dude was going in there too.

_I'm going to get enough to figure out what is going on over there,_ Ashja thought. _Even if it's the last thing I do._

_

* * *

_

Sara waited impatiently for Kurama and Mrs. Shiori to arrive. She couldn't wait to see them again. Even though it'd only been a week, it felt like it had been forever since she'd seen Mrs. Shiori.

After several hours of eager waiting, Sara finally saw them coming up the stairs. Sara happily bounded off of the porch to greet them. Kurama came first, followed by Shiori and Caius. Sara hugged Kurama, and was pleased when he hugged her back.

"Good morning, Sara," Kurama said.

"It's almost afternoon," Sara pointed out. She didn't mean to sound whiney, but she'd hoped that they would have gotten there earlier. It was almost time for lunch.

Kurama ruffled her hair with a smile. "My apologies. Mokie delayed us; and speaking of plants, there's one here who wanted to see you."

Kurama held up a small pot with Scarlett in it. "Sara!" Scarlett said, her small leaves reaching towards her. Sara took the pot with a smile. "Hello Scarlett. I've missed you."

"Sara, how have you been?" Mrs. Shiori asked.

Sara hugged her too. "I've been good," Sara said. "I've been practicing a lot."

Sara glanced over at Caius, but he was staying a respectful distance away from their little group. It was when Sara looked at him though that she noticed the stranger. He looked familiar, and Sara almost felt as if she should know him, even though she was sure she'd never actually seen him before in her life.

"Sara," Kurama said. "This is Barago…He is your mother's elder brother, and your uncle."

Sara's eyes widened, and she looked between Kurama and Barago, trying to understand what was being said. This man was her uncle? She still had family? Her mother's family? But he looked human?

Barago smiled gently and held a hand out towards her. "Hello, Sara."

Sara hesitantly reached out and took his hand. The moment their hands touched, Barago's illusion melted away, showing his true form. He had brown fox ears on the top of his head, and a bushy brown fox tail like Sara's. His hair was long and brown, with streaks of green mixed in. Sara's breath caught; he looked like Kyoko!

With no conscious thought in her mind, Sara dashed forward, clinging tightly to her uncle. He hugged her close, and for the first time since her mother's death, Sara felt like she was home.


	16. Chapter 16

I beg for forgiveness! I'm sorry the chapter is so late! But here it is, please enjoy, and remember Crazy has already yelled at me. (Syco leaves to cry in the corner.)

* * *

Kuwabara stood in front of a dojo. It was a rather large dojo, with an impressive set of gates that were wide open.

He checked the address on the paper Daimo had given him yesterday. He had asked Kuwabara to come the next morning where he could learn even more about the Society and where people could check his strength and how much training he would need.

The address was right, so Kuwabara took a deep breath and entered through the front gate. As he passed the gate he could feel a tingle of wards._ Ah, so that is why they feel assured of leaving the gate open; someone placed a pretty high power ward to keep demons out._ It would keep most demons out, especially low power ones, but Kuwabara was pretty sure his three friends could break through it no problem.

In the yard of the dojo he could see students lined up practicing the basics of a martial art; however, he could sense no spirit energy from them, so they could be regular students. It looked as though a higher level student was leading them, and not an actual teacher.

He walked up to the actual dojo, from where he could hear more students practicing. He removed his shoes after entering and bowed, showing respect. After straightening he quickly glanced around, assessing the students there.

They had a slight amount of spirit energy, but such a small amount that Kuwabara doubted they could actually do anything with it, other than offer themselves as tasty snacks.

He could see someone observing the training from the other side of the room, so he carefully edged around the room until he could see the person clearly.

It was a man, a rather large man, but more in girth than in height. He probably wasn't much taller than Kuwabara, but his sheer muscle size made him an intimidating figure—at least to a person who didn't regularly fight monsters and whose best friend made a habit out of dying and coming back to life.

The man did look like he was in charge though, so Kuwabara approached him. "Excuse me?" he called to the man, walking closer to him. As soon as his voice reached the man, the man turned to look at him and Kuwabara was surprised to see a woman pop out from the other side of him.

"Yes?" and as Kuwabara expected the man's voice was a rumble.

"I haven't seen you here before? Are you here for training?" the woman's voice wasn't a suitable voice though, coming from such a small woman. _Almost sounds like Kurama's voice actually, could belong to a man or a woman._

"Kind of, Daimo sent me here. He said that-"

"Daimo sent you here? Great!" the woman interrupted him.

"We are always looking for new recruits." The man said smiling down at him. "My name is Masti, and this is my fiancé Shaya."

The woman nodded at him, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Kuwabara."

Masti motioned for towards a door, "Why don't you follow us and we'll show you to the Hall?"

"Alright. . ." This wasn't at all like Kuwabara had been expecting. These people seemed to be friendly, normal people, not a group that was bent on genocide.

They led the way down a long hallway, giving time for Kuwabara to observe them more closely.

Masti was as Kuwabara had already noted, a big man who was right now wearing the traditional robes of a dojo master. He had a full head of black hair and the beginnings of a mustache on his upper lip.

Shaya was a petite woman, also dressed in the grab of the dojo; however, where Masti carried no weapon, Shaya had a wooden sword thrust through the belt of the outfit. She had her brown hair in a high ponytail, leaving it to brush her shoulder-blades.

Kuwabara noticed the ground sloping down. "Um, are we going underground?"

Shaya turned around to wink at him, "Yep, we are a big operation here and need all the levels available to us, including underground ones. Plus, it stays the same temperature all year, really saves on the heating and cooling!"

The wooden floor became dirt and stones, with naked light bulbs strung at the ceiling to provide light.

The hallway—well, more of a very well-built tunnel—opened up to a large room that had opening leading to where Kuwabara could only guess.

There was a small group of people standing at the far end of the space, milling around and speaking in hushed voices.

Masti and Shaya strode confidently towards them, with Kuwabara following.

Once there Shaya motioned Kuwabara to join the rest of the group while they continued on to the front. Kuwabara took a quick moment to assess the group. It was made up of mainly young people, with one or two maybe in their thirties. Spiritually, they each had a good amount of power—not as much he himself had after all he had been though, but enough to develop into _something_. And he would bet no one here could beat him at rock, paper, and scissors.

"Thank you all for coming today!" Masti rumbling voice pulled him from his observations.

"You are all about to embark on a journey that will at times terrify you and amaze you at the same time." Shaya continued.

"You were each chosen for a reason. At one time, you or someone you were with was attacked—or will be attacked, by a demon."

"Now it was through no fault of your own that you were attacked, but the fault of those creatures. They simply wish to devour all of humanity."

The couple paused in their speech to allow the mummers of horror to die down.

"All of you in the Hall are in danger because each of you each has a high amount of spiritual energy." Masti explained.

"To these creatures, you are the choice pieces of meat. The creatures will be drawn to you and those around you. You must learn how to use those powers to protect you and your family." Shaya intoned.

"How are we supposed to do that?" A young teenage boy yelled from the front. "All I saw up there was simple martial arts."

"Do you really think that is all we're going to teach you?" Masti asked, with a glint that reminded him of Genkai. That in itself was disturbing to Kuwabara; these were supposed to be an evil Society, not people that were beloved mentors in his life.

"I'm not going to lie to you poor chicks," Shaya said, with a wicked glint in her eye, "We two are going to put you through hell." She paused, "But when we are done with you, no one or nothing will ever threaten your family again."

"Now, we will be going through a list of those here, and testing your current training and strengths." Masti finished, "So socialize, get to know the others here, and listen for your name."

Shaya called out a name, and then Masti and Shaya headed to another room with the first person.

Kuwabara turned to the person next to him. It was one of the older men; however, he was turned away from Kuwabara, speaking to a young lady.

Kuwabara turned to find someone else to talk to when he heard a voice calling to him from waist-level.

"Hey." It turned out to by a boy, of about eight or nine years old. He had black hair pulled into a little low ponytail. Kuwabara stopped his surprise from showing at the large amount of spirit energy the kid had.

"Hey kid."

The boy's nostrils flared, "Don't call me kid! I have a name and it's Isamu."

"Ok, Isamu, I'm Kuwabara."

The little kid stared up at him, "You're really tall. Are you a giant?"

Kuwabara grinned, "No, I'm not a giant. I just drank all my milk growing up."

"Yuck. I hate milk."

Kuwabara looked around. "Where are your parents? Or are you here by yourself?"

The kid looked away, "My parents are . . . well they're gone."

Kuwabara felt his heart soften. He knelt down in front of Isamu, "My parents are gone too. But you know what?"

Isamu shook his head.

"You can make them proud of you; you can be a man, honorable to the end."

Isamu blinked his vivid violet eyes, which was all the warning Kuwabara had before Isamu darted forward and wrapped his arms around Kuwabara's neck, "Will you be my big brother?"

"Aw, that's so cute!"

Both Kuwabara and Isamu turned to see a teenage girl with her hair in ponytails, blue ribbons strung through her hair, clasping her hands together and grinning widely at them.

"Who are you?" Isamu asked rudely.

"Isamu, never be rude to a lady!" Kuwabara chastised him. He turned to the girl, noticing that her sapphire eyes matched the ribbons in her hair and she also had a high level of spirit energy, "What is your name Miss?"

"Wow you're so nice! Like a prince!" She gushed. Kuwabara blinked; he didn't know girls other than Botan could sound like that.

"My name is Mizuko." She bounced in place, "What are your names?"

"I'm Isamu, and this is my big brother Kuwabara!" Isamu piped up, standing proudly next to Kuwabara.

Mizuko's hands flew to her mouth, "Are you two really brothers? You look so different!"

"No, we're not blood-related brothers, though I would be proud to call Isamu my brother." Beside him he could feel Isamu swell with pride.

"How sweet!" Mizuko giggled, "Have you two been tested yet?"

Kuwabara shook his head in answer.

"I don't need to be tested." Isamu said proudly.

"Really?" Mizuko asked.

"How did that come about?" Kuwabara asked Isamu.

Isamu looked down again, "Well, like I said earlier; my parents are gone, so Shaya and Masti are adopting me when they get married."

He looked up, smiling a little now, "They've been training me so I don't need to be tested! I just came today to see all the new people they'll be training too."

"Kazuma Kuwabara! Kazuma Kuwabara!" It was Kuwabara's turn to be tested.

He nodded bye to Isamu and Mizuko, and headed towards Masti and Shaya. He took a deep breath; it was time for his true test of acting skills.


	17. Chapter 17

Sara sat out in the yard with Barago. The others had all gone inside the temple in order to give them some time alone to talk. Normally Sara would have been frightened to be left with a stranger like this, but since it was Barago she found she didn't mind at all. For reasons she couldn't explain, Barago's presence made her feel safer than anything or anyone else ever had. It didn't matter that she didn't know him; the trust was instant and complete.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," Barago said.

"It's okay," Sara said, and it really was. She hadn't known that her mother had had family, so this surprise was unexpected and wonderful. The knowledge that she still had family, in a way still had a piece of her mother, somehow made the memories of her life easier to bear.

"Are there more of you?" Sara asked. "I mean, are there more family members?" It almost seemed selfish to hope there were more, but Sara really wanted there to be.

Barago smiled and ruffled her hair fondly. "Of course there are. You have fifty six aunts and uncles, most of whom have mates, and I won't even begin to guess how many cousins you have. And there are your grandparents too."

Sara's jaw dropped. She was completely stunned. To go from having no family at all to having such a big family…It was overwhelming. "So many?" she asked weakly.

"Kitsunes live a long time and are notorious for having large families," Barago said, his eyes twinkling.

"I guess I really don't know anything about kitsunes," Sara said self consciously.

Barago pulled her close in another hug. "You'll learn."

They sat in contented silence for a while, until Sara asked, "I was wondering…How come it took so long for you to find me? I mean, its okay that it took a while…I was just wondering why."

Barago sighed and stared off in the distance. "Our clan doesn't live here in the Human Realm. We live in Makai. Our clan is known for having visions, being able to see into the past or the future. Seeing the future is a tricky thing, but Kyoko, your mother, was better at it than most. She had a vision that her destiny lay in the Human World. She told our parents about it, but of course they refused to let her come. Kyoko was young, the equivalent of a human fifteen year old. There was no way they would let her travel to the Human World at that age.

"Because our parents said no, Kyoko took matters into her own hands and ran away. Before we could go after her, we were attacked by a rival wolf clan who wanted to steal our territory. During the fight, we weren't able to spare anyone to go after Kyoko. The feud lasted over twenty years, and recovering from it took several years as well. As soon as I could be spared, I left the clan and searched for Kyoko. I've spent the past ten years looking for her. I actually didn't know you existed until recently," Barago finished.

"Oh," Sara said. "So, you didn't know Mom had died."

Sadness swept over his face. "No. Normally we can sense when a member of the clan dies, but with us being in separate worlds when it happened, we didn't feel Kyoko's death."

Sara leaned against him, wanting to offer some comfort. Though she hadn't officially known of Kyoko's death until Kurama had told her, Sara had come to terms with the fact that her mother was never going to be in her life years ago. Barago on the other hand had only just found out.

"Sara," Barago said, "I want you to come back with me to Makai."

Sara stiffened and pulled away from him. "You want what?"

"I want you to come back to Maikai with me, and live with the clan," Barago said. "It isn't right for you to stay here without any family, and we can't all move to Human World. It would be better for you to be with us. If you're with us, you can learn about yourself, about what you are, and what you can do. You can get to know your family, something you can't do if you're here."

"But…But I can't leave Earth," Sara said.

"Why not?" Barago asked. "What's holding you here?"

Sara had to think about that one. What _was_ holding her here? It wasn't like she had a great future planned for herself. She had told Kurama and Yusuke that she wanted a daycare when she graduated, but for something like that she needed a college degree and the chances of her getting into a decent college with her grades were slim to none. Not to mention the fact that she didn't know how she'd pay for college anyways. It wasn't like she could expect Shiori to pay for it, and Sara had no money of her own.

When it came to people, there weren't that many that cared about her. There was Shiori, Kurama, Yukina, Maya and Kaito. Of course there were Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara as well, but somehow Sara doubted as to whether those three would care where she decided to live. With such a small list of people that cared about her, did it really matter if she left?

_Yes, it does._

Because there was one good reason to stay in Human World. "Kurama," Sara finally said in answer to Barago's question.

"You like him," Barago said.

Blushing bright red, Sara nodded.

"Does he feel the same about you?" Barago asked.

Sara nodded again. "We just became an official couple a few days ago."

Barago looked thoughtful. "I see." He was silent for a minute, making Sara feel nervous. Did Barago not approve of Kurama? But how could anyone disapprove of him?

Finally, Barago spoke again. "Well, if you are determined to stay here in Human World, I can't let you stay alone. So, I'm going to stay here with you."

Sara's eyes widened. "You are?"

Barago nodded decisively. "Yup, I am. Which means we're going to have to look for an apartment, and I'm going to have to find a job."

"We?" Sara asked.

"Of course," Barago said with a grin. "I'm your uncle, Sara. You don't think I'd force you to keep relying on Shiori's charity, now do you?"

Sara hadn't known what to expect, but even though she enjoyed living with Kurama and Shiori, she found the idea of living with Barago, with _family_, exciting. She hugged him again. "Thank you, Uncle Barago."

"We're family," Barago said. "There's no need to thank me."

"Sara, Barago, lunch is ready!" Shiori called from the porch of Genkai's temple.

"We're coming!" Barago called with a wave of his hand.

He smiled down at Sara. "Hungry?"

Sara nodded, smiling back. "Yes."

Barago helped her to her feet, and side by side, they walked into the temple.

* * *

Barago was not happy. Well, he was happy about finding Sara. He was not happy with what Sara had told him, or with what he had observed.

When it came to courtship kitsunes had a very strict standard that was supposed to be followed, and so far as Barago could see, Kurama wasn't following those standards. Granted he treated Sara with obvious affection throughout lunch and the time following, but as far as Barago could tell, it was more the affection of a close friend than a person in love.

And maybe Barago was making something out of nothing. After all, humans had different standards for courtship than kitsunes, and it could be that Kurama was purposely following human standards where Sara was concerned because she'd been raised as a human so for now that was all she knew. But that still didn't explain why Kurama had broken one of the biggest rules of courtship among kitsunes.

Kurama hadn't _asked._

Granted Barago was sure they'd become a couple before he'd ever shown up on the scene. But that didn't change the fact that according to kitsune customs he should have found out about this from Kurama, not Sara. Kitsune were protective of their own, and potential suitors had to get the approval of the female's parents, or her nearest blood kin, which in Sara's case would be Barago. Sara might not be aware of these things, but Kurama most certainly was.

Since Kurama hadn't asked permission from Barago to court Sara, that could, in Barago's mind, mean only one of two things. It could be that Kurama didn't see Barago as Sara's clan, in which case Kurama had a nasty surprise coming in the near future. The only other option was that Kurama wasn't serious about Sara. If that was the case, nasty didn't even begin to cover what would happen to Kurama for toying with Sara's feelings. Barago didn't care who Kurama was, Sara was _family,_ and all that was left of Kyoko. Barago wouldn't forgive anyone for hurting her.

"Something bothering you?"

Barago glanced to the side to see Genkai, the psychic who owned the temple, staring out at the yard. Everyone else was out in the yard so they had a moment of relative privacy. "Nothing that should concern you," Barago said, even managing to throw in a gallant smile.

"Hmph. You don't approve of them," Genkai said, piercing him with a gaze that belied her frail appearance.

Barago glanced out at Kurama and Sara, who appeared to be engaged in some sort of lively discussion with Yukina and Shiori. Caius was nearby, but slightly apart from the main group.

"It's not so much that I disapprove of them as I doubt Kurama's intentions," Barago said.

"Kurama isn't the type to play around with a girl," Genkai said.

"Perhaps," Barago allowed. "I do not know him personally. But Yoko Kurama was very famous among kitsune, and not all stories about him were pleasant."

Like the disturbing rumors that he had had his right hand man murdered. You didn't kill clan; you just didn't. But Yoko Kurama had been a kitsune with no clan, and maybe a band of thieves couldn't replace that. Either way, it was just wrong.

"Not all rumors are true," Genkai said.

"Where there's smoke there's fire," Barago countered. He couldn't believe that all of the stories about Yoko's ruthless ways had been made up. Not that Kurama had acted like that in the time he'd known him, which admittedly wasn't much at all. He had had a certain coldness about him though, a wall that kept others from getting to close.

"And people can change," Genkai said. "Why don't you get to know him before you make any judgments?"

Barago had to concede the point. People could change. The question then, was how much had Yoko Kurama changed, and was that change for the better or the worse?

Barago's attention was distracted then by Sara who had come to the bottom of the steps. "Uncle Barago, won't you and Genkai come talk with the rest of us?"

Barago couldn't help but smile at Sara. "Of course, we were just finishing up our own discussion." Barago stood and gave Genkai a flamboyant bow. "Ladies first."

Genkai snorted, but seemed more amused than annoyed. "At least you have some manners."

Barago flashed a smile. "My mother did her best to teach me."

They walked over to the others, and sat down on the ground with them.

"Genkai," Shiori said, "I was wondering if Sara would be able to come back to the city with us soon."

Which reminded Barago, he'd never found out exactly why they had left Sara here. He probably should have asked about that, but he'd had a lot on his mind.

"She can hold the illusion long enough if she isn't distracted, but if she gets distracted she drops it," Genkai said.

Sara blushed, looking embarrassed. "I'm trying my best," she said quietly.

"Of course you are," Kurama soothed. "You'll get it soon, Sara."

Barago frowned. If they were talking about what he thought they were talking about, the conversation made no sense. Holding an illusion was the easy part; or at least, it was supposed to be.

"Show me your illusion," Barago said.

Sara started a little at his words, but nodded uncertainly. "Okay." She closed her eyes and concentrated, pulling on her power. Barago could see it as it wrapped around her, thin bands of green that solidified into an image of Sara as a human.

Barago kept his face passive. "And you can hold that for hours?"

Sara nodded. "Yes, but I have to keep thinking about it to keep it in place."

Judging by the looks on the others faces, none of them understood just how amazing what Sara was talking about was.

"That's impressive."

Everyone looked at Caius, and Barago was surprised to realize that Caius actually meant what he was saying.

"All someone has to do is clap their hands and she loses it," Genkai said. "How's that impressive?"

"Because brown kitsunes don't hold illusions like that, as Barago could tell you," Caius said.

Barago eyed him with both a new respect and wariness. "What would you know about it?"

"I'm an illusionist myself," Caius said with a smile and a shrug. "I've studied different styles. Brown kitsune have the ability to tie off their illusions so their energy and attention aren't required to hold them in place. My people are not so lucky. Our illusions require our attention and concentration, much the way Sara has been holding hers. Holding an illusion for hours like that isn't easy, and mastering the concentration needed to tune out distractions takes years. That she's managed to get this far in just a week is very impressive."

Everyone looked to Barago for confirmation of Caius's words. "He's right," Barago said. "We usually tie off our illusions, and if I show Sara how, she should be able to do it too. Because we tie it off, most brown kitsune don't work up the stamina to hold our illusions like that, and while I'm sure any adult from our clan could match her, Sara could outlast any kitsune her own age like this."

Everyone did look suitably impressed then; Sara seemed stunned. Likely she'd never been told she was better than anyone at anything. Slowly, a smile made its way across Sara's face, which pleased Barago. She deserved to be proud of her accomplishment.

"Let me show you how to tie off illusions," Barago said. "Watch closely."

Pulling on his own power, Barago wrapped the image of the human for that he used around himself. Just before it could snap into place and solidify, Barago tugged some strands of his power and tied them to himself.

"Did you catch that?" Barago asked Sara.

"I think so," she said.

"Good. I want you to try now. Don't worry if you don't get it the first time; no one ever does," Barago said. Which was a bit of an understatement; it took most people about a week to get the tying down thing right. But considering what Sara had already accomplished without realizing it, Barago had a feeling she'd get it much quicker if he didn't set limits on her.

Sara seemed nervous about trying, likely due to how many people were watching her, but she did as Barago said. It took almost half an hour of trial and error, but Barago was patient and eventually Sara did catch on, proving what Barago thought correct. Barago allowed himself a satisfied grin; kits could always manage what adults thought was impossible as long as no one told the kit it was impossible.

"I did it!" Sara said, almost bouncing with excitement.

"I'm proud of you," Barago said. And he was, for more than just this achievement.

Sara threw her arms around Barago, holding tightly. "Thank you, Uncle."

"You're welcome," Barago said.

"Looks like you'd better pack up," Genkai said. "Since you can hold that illusion, you're going home tonight."

Sara's eyes sparkled with happiness, and Barago could just imagine what she was thinking.

_Best day, ever._

_

* * *

_AN-Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be posted on the _19th. _See you all then!_  
_


	18. Chapter 18

Kuwabara walked towards the door where Shaya was standing, waiting on him. He took a deep breath and readied himself.

"Now, there's no need to be nervous," Shaya patted his back, "This is the easy part. Later the _real_ fun begins."

"Thank you for that heart-warming advice," Kuwabara said with a bit of sarcasm.

They entered the room where Masti was waiting for them. The room was bare, except for a desk that had folders and papers on it. They appeared to be the records for the trainees, but Kuwabara didn't have time to examine them as Masti waved him over.

"You're Kazuma Kuwabara, correct?" Masti asked, pen poised over paper.

"Yes," Kuwabara answered.

"Alright, well I can see that you've had some training. Who helped you train and how much?"

Kuwabara hesitated, "Well, I have spoken with a few spiritualists, but I was trained by none of them. However, I had a friend that was pretty into the spiritual energy and he helped me train my power when I discovered I had more than just a sense."

Masti's head jerked up from where he was writing, "More than a sense? Please, explain more."

Kuwabara shifted uneasily, why did he have to say that? "Well, all my life I had a feeling for choosing the right things, or knowing when something bad was going to happen."

Shaya cut in, "So you basically have radar for spiritual things and for luck?" She sighed, "That is going to be so useful. How strong is it?"

Kuwabara shrugged, "I've never lost a rock, paper, scissors game." He paused then shivered just a fraction, "And I know when something isn't from this world."

Masti grinned, "That's great. You can be a good alarm system for us."

Shaya held up her hand, "But wait, you said you have more than just a sense. What more do you have?"

_And here comes the hardest part_, Kuwabara thought to himself. "Well you see, one night my sister and I were attacked. It was some sort of y-youkai I guess. It was going to hurt my sister, so I grabbed a stick to fight it off." He paused, took a glance at them, "The stick- well, it began to _glow_."

A pleased grin spread across Shaya face, "Physical manifestation? Or was it limited to only the stick?"

"Then it was just the stick. When I hit the thing with it, it went all the way through." He lowered his head, "I killed it." Kuwabara then raised his head and looked them in the eyes, "But it was going to kill my sister so I regret nothing."

"It was only the natural thing to do." Masti said softly, "I would have done the exact same thing in your case."

Kuwabara nodded solemnly.

"Good, now you mentioned training with a friend. How far did you get, can you show us?" Shaya interrupted the quiet moment.

"Yeah." Kuwabara straightened up and stood with legs apart, his hands held out in front of him like they were grasping a sword handle. He kept a careful clamp on his power and allowed his spirit sword to come forth; however it was more like a spirit dagger with the tight reign he kept on it.

Shaya clapped, "Oh we are going to have so much fun training you. You're one of the few that can do actual physical manifestations!"

Kuwabara could feel sweat dripping between his shoulder blades, it was _hard_ to keep it from going to the size he had trained to achieve for so long.

"Okay," Masti rumbled, "you can let it go now. I can sense that you are under a bit of strain, but don't worry; Shaya and I will take good care of you." He wrote something down on the paper in front of him, "You are now one of four so far in a group that Shaya and I will be handling personally."

Shaya smirked, "_Very_ personally."

"Ignore her," Masti said with a pointed look, "But she is right, the training will be difficult. When we finish with you will be able to stop any youkai from attacking anyone you care about again."

Kuwabara bowed in gratitude, taking that moment to assess their levels of spirit energy, something he should have done earlier. He was impressed by what he found. They were . . . pretty strong; strong enough to be a serious threat to youkai.

"The group we are assigning you to is under the name A1. So look out for that group's posting for training times and such after we finish going through the rest of the crowd." Masti finished up, putting the paper he had been writing on into a folder.

"Thank you for being so willing to protect people." Masti smiled.

"And please wait in the Hall. There are a lot of people we have to go through." Shaya said bluntly.

"Of course." Kuwabara bowed again and left the room to rejoin the people in the hall. He could see Isamu and Mizuko waving to him, so he strode to the crowd towards them.

"How did it go?" Mizuko chirped at the same time Isamu asked, "What group were you put in?"

Kuwabara turned to Mizuko, "It went well." Then to Isamu, "I was put in A1."

"Yes!" Isamu jumped into the air, "That's the group I was put into!"

"Wait, what does A1 mean?" Mizuko asked mournfully, "I need to get in that group to be with you guys!"

"Group A1 means that you have physical manifestations of your spiritual power." Isamu grinned, "I can make mine into a big bouncing ball."

Mizuko looked to Kuwabara, "What can you make?"

"A dagger, but I have a feeling with training it will become bigger." A mutter of _I want a sword_ came from Isamu.

"So cool!" Mizuko bounced in place, "And I should be placed into the same group as you guys!"

"Really?" Isamu looked at her critically, "What can _you_ do?"

Kuwabara shook his head, "She has the same amount—if not more—power than you Isamu."

Mizuko flapped her hand in the air, "Its okay. I know I don't look real powerful, and I have never been attacked by a youkai. But-"she held her finger in the air-"I grew up in a temple. My family has been priests and priestesses for generations!"

_Crap_, Kuwabara thought to himself_, that means she has training, knowledge, and she may even be a natural exorcist, if she's never been attacked._

"So what can you do?" Isamu asked in a more respectful tone.

"I'll show you!" Mizuko disappeared into the crowd, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be right back!"

"What do you think she can do?" Isamu asked Kuwabara.

"I don't know," he answered, "but if she has been training at a temple, it could be really impressive."

"Cool," Isamu grinned, "But I bet it's still girly!"

Mizuko came running back to them, carrying an archery bow. "I had brought this with me, but left it leaning against the wall."

She stood and swiftly drew the bow, "And here's what I can do!" A bright arrow made of spirit energy formed on the bow. She held the pose for a moment, and then lowered the bow, allowing the arrow to disappear.

"Cool, yeah?" She asked grinning at them.

"Yeah," Isamu nodded, "And it's not girly."

"That is pretty cool," Kuwabara added, "And its long range so you won't be in the thick of the fighting where you could be hurt."

"You're so sweet!" Mizuko squealed, "You're worried about me?"

"Of course. Women should not have to fight; men should protect them from harm." Kuwabara nodded sharply, "That's what true men do!"

Mizuko clasped her hands to her chest, "You are just like a real prince!"

Isamu tugged at Kuwabara's shirt, "I want to be a real man!"

Kuwabara nodded to him, "It's an honor code every man should follow. I shall teach you the way!"

Mizuko grabbed both of their hands, "Kazuma Kuwabara, let's make a promise to each other. Let's stay together in this, to stand by each other's sides."

Kuwabara looked at her, surprised by her sudden seriousness and guts twisting at the thought of making a promise to people he was spying on.

Isamu was already agreeing and now both were looking to him for his answer.

Looking at their expectant faces Kuwabara made up his mind.

"Alright, let's stand by each other's sides."

They clasped each other's hands and made their promise to the others in the circle.

_I will do what I can to help them_, Kuwabara thought to himself. _ They're not bad people, and I as a man cannot hurt them! I just need to teach them that not all youkai are evil.

* * *

_AN-Woot! On time this week! We should all be pleased that Syco's doing better!


	19. Chapter 19

Barago slid off the couch early Sunday morning and stretched his limbs. The couch wasn't quite long enough to be completely comfortable, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about the free room and board.

Barago carefully listened to get an idea of where everyone was in the house. From what he could hear, it would seem that everyone was still in bed.

Wait, no…Caius was moving about in the office. Since Sara had returned the night before, Caius had moved into the office. Shiori wasn't done cleaning it out, so he'd had to make up a pallet on the floor. Caius hadn't made a fuss over the new sleeping arrangements, but considering how little yokai needed to sleep in comparison to humans, he might not have even laid down. Barago certainly wouldn't have slept on the couch again if not for an attempt to be polite to his host.

Caius came out of the office as Barago was folding up the blankets he'd used. "Good morning," Caius said.

"Good morning," Barago replied. He still wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the man. Barago knew that Kurama wasn't fond of him, Sara was kind of scared of him, and Shiori was pretty much the only person who accepted his presence.

Barago was inclined to dislike Caius because of what he'd done to Sara, but by all reports, there had been good reasons for what he'd done. Also, Caius did seem to be going out of his way to try and not make Sara uncomfortable. Barago had noticed yesterday how Caius had tried to keep his distance from her so she'd feel more comfortable, which won him some points in Barago's favor. In the end, Barago decided he'd have to reserve judgment for now.

Caius didn't say anything beyond that greeting, and made his way to the kitchen. Bored, and a bit curious, Barago followed him. Caius was looking in the fridge and studying the contents. "Are you planning to make breakfast?" Barago asked.

"Yes, actually," Caius said, pulling various ingredients out of the fridge. "Would you like to help?"

Seeing as Barago had absolutely nothing else to do, he didn't see why not. "Sure thing," he said. They worked together in silence for a few minutes, until Caius spoke up.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" Caius asked. "I'm assuming you're not planning to stay in this house, and Sara probably doesn't want to move to Makai."

Barago glanced over at Caius, somewhat annoyed by the other man's question and assumptions, even if they were correct. Caius might not be a threat at the moment, but that didn't necessarily make him a friend, and Barago didn't appreciate Caius prying into his business.

Not that Caius wouldn't have found out Barago's plans anyways; he'd been planning to announce them that morning after all. Still, it was the principle of the matter.

"I'm going to find an apartment for us," Barago said tersely.

Caius nodded. "I thought as much. She's quite attached to Kurama, isn't she?"

Barago glared, Caius's comments annoying him. "What business is it of yours anyways?"

Caius gave him what should have been a disarming smile. "I'm just making conversation."

Perhaps he was being overly sensitive, but Barago couldn't help but feel that Caius's questions weren't entirely innocent. Come to think of it, if he was going to be living so near Caius, he ought to know more about him.

Swiftly changing topics, Barago asked, "How long have you lived in Human World?"

Caius answered the question without hesitation, much to Barago's surprise. "About sixty-five years I think."

Barago raised his eyebrows. "That long and Spirit World never noticed?" Granted Barago had hidden in Human World for ten years without attracting any unwanted attention, but Barago had never killed a human. Given Caius's eating habits, he wouldn't have had a choice but to kill humans.

Caius nodded. "The trick is knowing when to feed, and who to feed from. No one is concerned if a sick or elderly person passes away."

Even so, it showed an impressive amount of skill to have avoided detection as long as Caius had.

"Ah, you two didn't have to do that!"

Both men turned from their nearly finished breakfast preparations to find Shiori standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a look of dismay on her face.

Caius didn't pause for a second as his ever present smile (which Barago found mildly creepy) became charming. "It is our pleasure to do something for you," he said smoothly. "After all, you already do so much for us."

Shiori looked uncertain, and Barago caught Caius's meaningful look. Barago slipped into his charming mode as easily as Caius (something Barago didn't want to give too much thought). "He's right of course," Barago agreed. "It is our pleasure to help in any way we can."

"Since breakfast is almost ready, why don't you make sure Kurama and Sara are up, and we can all eat together," Caius suggested.

"Well, okay," Shiori said, apparently deciding the situation wasn't worth fussing over. She left the kitchen and Caius and Barago finished up the breakfast preparations. By the time they were done, Shiori had returned with Kurama and Sara in tow.

There was a moment of awkwardness as everyone tried to figure out where exactly they should sit at the table. Barago felt a twinge of sympathy when he realized the awkwardness stemmed from the fact that neither Kurama nor Sara wanted to sit near Caius. In the end, Caius wound up sitting between Shiori and Barago, with Sara on Barago's other side, and Kurama between Shiori and Sara.

_He's kind of the odd man out, _Barago thought as morning chatter started to flow about the table. Sara was still a little scared of Caius and Kurama still didn't like Caius, so both did their best to pretend Caius didn't exist. Shiori was the only one who actually directly spoke to Caius, and Barago got the feeling that she didn't quite know what to think about him.

It wasn't easy, being the only person in a group that didn't fit.

Something Kurama said caught Barago's attention then. "Perhaps I could help you with your make up work today," Kurama was saying to Sara. "After all, I'm sure Genkai didn't give you much time to work on it."

Sara brightened considerably. "That would be great."

That wouldn't do at all. "Actually," Barago said, "I was hoping Kurama could help me today."

Everyone, save Caius, looked surprised. "With what?" Kurama asked, both polite and cautious.

"I'm going to be looking for an apartment for Sara and myself," Barago said. "I was hoping you would be able to show me some of the nicer apartments near Sara's school, since I don't know where anything in this city is."

"You're moving out?" Shiori asked.

Barago smiled and nodded. "Yes, we are. We can't keep imposing on you like this after all."

"I guess not," Shiori said. "But I could show you around, that way Shuichi could help Sara with her work."

Quickly, Barago cast around in his mind for reasons why Shiori couldn't show him around. "But I thought you'd want to spend the day with Caius," Barago said, getting strange looks from everyone. Gamely he plunged ahead. "I seem to recall you said you were going to spend Saturday nights with him, which you didn't get to do last night. I thought you'd want to make up for that today."

Shiori's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you're right!" She turned to Caius. "What with Sara coming back last night and trying to figure out where everyone would stay, I completely forgot! I'm sorry; we could do something today to make up for that."

Caius seemed pleased with the idea. "I'd like that."

"But what about Sara?" Kurama asked.

"It's okay," Sara said, though Barago could tell she was terribly disappointed. "After all, it isn't like you and Uncle Barago will be gone all day. When you get back I can just ask you any questions I have then."

Barago felt bad that his actions were making Sara unhappy, but ultimately it was for her own good. Barago wanted to make sure that Kurama wasn't just toying with her feelings, and he needed to get Kurama alone for that talk.

They finished up the meal and Kurama and Barago left the house to go see apartments. While they were walking, Barago tried to decided how best to approach the topic with Kurama. Finally, he decided the straightforward approach would be best.

"What are your intentions towards Sara?" Barago asked.

Kurama looked startled. "Excuse me?"

Barago shot him a look. "Sara told me you two are going out; something you haven't asked my permission for yet. That means either you're just toying with her, or you don't think I'm important enough to ask permission from." Barago made sure that the tone of his voice left no doubt that either option was a bad one.

Kurama nodded, looking genuinely apologetic. "You are correct, I did forget. I meant no insult; it has been so long since I've been with kitsunes, I don't think much about our customs anymore."

Barago wasn't pacified by that answer. "So, what are your intentions then?"

Kurama shrugged. "To be honest…I don't know. I do know that I care about Sara; I just don't know if those feelings will lead to marriage or not. That is part of why I've been following the human custom of dating. When humans date they aren't necessarily going to get married, and I can assure you that Sara isn't expecting that level of commitment from me."

Kurama's answer was believable…But somehow it didn't sit well with Barago. It was as though there was a little voice in Barago's mind telling him all wasn't right with Kurama's words, and Barago had learned long ago to listen to that voice. It had never been wrong before.

"And how do I know that you're being honest?" Barago asked. "I'm sure at this point in your life you've been able to perfect the art of lying."

Kurama sent him a look that almost seemed…condescending. "If you think like that, you may as well not believe anything I say."

Something in Barago felt that would be safer. Barago's mind began to hum with power; his clan wasn't known as psychic for nothing. Images flitted around Kurama, dark shadows that obscured his features.

"Barago?" Kurama asked, tilting his head to the side.

Barago blinked the images away, certain of only one thing from his short glimpse into Kurama's heart; he absolutely _couldn't_ trust this kitsune. He'd sooner trust Caius, which was just wrong. He ought to be able to trust any kitsune more than someone who wasn't a kitsune.

"If you do anything to hurt Sara, I will make you regret it," Barago warned. He wasn't going to bother trying to tell Kurama to just stay away from Sara like he really wanted to do. There was no way Kurama was going to listen so there was no point. He'd have to work on Sara and get her to leave him.

"I have no wish to hurt Sara," Kurama said.

_But that doesn't mean you won't._

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Shiori asked for what seemed to Caius to be the hundredth time.

"I'll be fine," Sara said. "I don't mind being home alone."

Shiori didn't seem completely convinced, but Caius wasn't going to let her skip out of their alone time again. "Sara can take care of herself for an hour or two," Caius said, taking Shiori's hand in his own. "It's time for us to go."

Shiori nodded. "Okay then. We'll see you soon, Sara."

Not too soon, if Caius had his way. Though Caius didn't believe that Barago had brought up the date Shiori owed him out of kindness, he was grateful to the kitsune. It was entirely possible that Shiori would have forgotten about him completely if Barago hadn't said something.

"Where are we going?" Shiori asked as Caius led the way down the sidewalk.

"You'll see," Caius replied.

"Are we going to the movies?" Shiori guessed, eyes twinkling.

Caius decided to humor her. "It's not that dark."

"Perhaps the mall?"

Caius shook his head. "It's not that crowded."

Shiori thought for a moment. "A café?"

"It's not a building," Caius said.

Shiori pursed her lips while she thought, and only knowing how embarrassed and upset Shiori would be by a public display of his affection kept Caius from actually kissing her. Her whole face lit up as she figured out where Caius was taking her. "We're going to a park!"

Caius chuckled and nodded. "That we are."

There were some people at the park already when Shiori and Caius got there. Caius skirted the couples and families and led Shiori towards the back end of the park where there weren't many people around. There was a pond there, and they sat at the edge, watching some ducks swim in the water.

"Soon it'll start getting too cold to do something like this," Shiori said.

Caius nodded. It was still warm enough today, but soon summer's heat would start to give way to fall. They sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes, Shiori enjoying the view of the pond, and Caius enjoying his view of Shiori.

"Caius," Shiori said, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Caius responded.

"Could you…Could you tell me about Yoko?"

Caius stiffened. The last thing he wanted during his alone time with Shiori was to talk about someone else.

Shiori must have read how he felt in his face. "I'm sorry for bringing it up right now, but I need to know and I can't ask Shuichi."

"Why not?" Caius asked.

Shiori looked out at the water again, her expression full of sadness. "Because I don't want him to think I hate him."

Caius's ever present smile dimmed just a bit. This was a deeper issue than he'd thought, and he could kick himself for not realizing something was bothering Shiori sooner. But it wasn't easy to read Shiori's emotions. She tried so hard to lock anything unpleasant away so that no one else would ever see it.

"What's going on?" Caius asked gently.

"Shuichi told me yesterday that he and Yoko are merging," Shiori said. "They're becoming one person. I want to know how this is going to affect Shuichi, but I can't just ask him, because then he'll think I hate him."

"I don't think you're capable of hating anyone," Caius said.

"…I think I might hate Yoko."

Caius blinked. That was unexpected. "Why do you hate Yoko?"

Shiori blinked back tears. "Because he stole my baby. He stole my family. My reputation. My _everything. _And now, just when I thought things were going to get better, he's doing it all over again."

Caius was more than a little confused. The first one he could understand, but Shiori's other complaints didn't quite make sense. "You're going to have to explain that to me," Caius said.

Shiori sniffled. "Shuichi…Shuichi doesn't look like me. Or Hatori. I never understood what happened, why he was born with red hair and green eyes. I didn't have any explanation for it. Everyone else did though."

Comprehension dawned on him. "They thought you had an affair."

Shiori nodded, wiping away a few stray tears. "How else were they to explain how Shuichi looks? Hatori didn't doubt me, though he didn't know how to explain Shuichi's looks either. Everyone else was convinced of my guilt though. My family deserted me, and my friends. I was branded. It got so bad that we moved here when Shuichi was still just a baby."

Shiori took a shuddering breath. "If that had been the end of things, I could have handled it. But it wasn't the end." She turned her tearful gaze to Caius. "Do you have any idea how it feels to know that your three year old child thinks you're stupid? That you're beneath him? Because he did. Oh, he never said that. But the looks he would give me said it all.

"I tried to be a good mother for him, and Hatori tried to be a good father. But Shuichi made it so hard. He didn't need us, and he most certainly didn't want us. And when Hatori died…Shuichi didn't care. I thought he was in shock at first, but he really just didn't care. I was devastated, and Shuichi didn't care!"

At this point Shiori broke down completely, and Caius wrapped her in his arms, grateful that the other people in the park weren't near enough to hear what was going on. After a while, Shiori's tears calmed down.

"He did start to care about me eventually," Shiori said. "But he was always so distant, so cold. I hated that. And now…I thought I'd have a chance to actually get to know Shuichi; the real Shuichi. I forgave Yoko for everything I really did. But he's doing it again! He's stealing my son, and I'll never get to know him, and there's _nothing_ I can do about it."

She was quiet for a minute, and Caius said nothing, letting her gather her own thoughts. "I don't hate Shuichi," she finally said. "I could never hate him, no matter what. But I think I hate Yoko for never letting me be Shuichi's mother."

Caius held Shiori close and rubbed her back with one hand while he tried to sort out how to reply to her. "I've never had children myself, so I won't pretend to understand the pain you're going through," Caius said. "I think it's something that only a parent could understand. However, I will say that you have changed Yoko Kurama."

Shiori turned her head so she was looking up at him. "I have?"

Caius nodded. "You have. All the stories I've heard of Yoko have painted him as utterly ruthless. He was dangerous, never letting anyone close, never caring about anyone but himself. He was an expert thief, and he never let anyone or anything stand in his way. You've softened him."

"I'm not sure I understand," Shiori said.

"You remember when you wanted to heal me and Yoko told you that you shouldn't?" Caius asked.

Shiori nodded.

"The Yoko of old would never have let you heal me. As a matter of fact, the Yoko of old would have killed me, no matter what my death would have done to you. Shiori, if the stories are correct, the only person Yoko ever cared about was himself. But you changed that. You taught him how to love someone other than himself. Through you, he learned about mercy and second chances."

Tears were shining in Shiori's eyes again, but Caius could tell they weren't sad tears anymore.

"Kurama's personality is probably going to be out of sync while this merging is happening," Caius said, "but I have a feeling that when it's over he'll be very similar to how he's always been. I'd bet the only real difference will be he'll have to deal with more of his kitsune instincts, which isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Shiori leaned into Caius. "You're probably right."

Caius had no idea whether or not he was right, but he didn't see a reason for Kurama to change once his soul got settled. From the way Shiori had described him, Caius was certain Yoko had been heavily influencing much of Kurama's personality and thought process from the beginning anyways. Why then should he be any different once their souls were joined?

Shiori wiped away the last of her tears and smiled up at Caius. "Thank you for listening Caius. I really needed that."

Caius was about to tell her not to mention it when Shiori leaned up and gave him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips, causing Caius to freeze with surprise. It was the first time Shiori had ever kissed him.

Shiori laughed at the look on Caius's face, and stood up. "I'm getting hungry," she said, eyes twinkling. "Treat me to lunch?"

Caius stood to follow, and for once a genuine smile was playing in his lips. "As you wish."

* * *

Shiori was surprised at how content she felt. Caius had known just what to say to make her feel better. Not that she'd liked hearing about what Yoko had been like. But Caius had pointed out that whatever he might have been then, he wasn't like that now.

_Yoko is Yoko_, she thought, _and Shuichi is Shuichi. They are both a part of him…A part of…Kurama._

No matter what happened now, Shiori felt she didn't have to worry. But this heart to heart had opened Shiori's eyes to something else that she'd been slowly starting to realize on her own anyways, even though she'd tried hard to ignore it.

Glancing at Caius as they walked home together, Shiori thought, _I believe I could fall for this man._

Falling in love was something she'd never considered after Hatori's death. She'd been too busy raising her son, and the idea had seemed disrespectful to Hatori's memory.

_Would you mind, Hatori, if I found happiness with someone else?_

She didn't think he would. Knowing Hatori, he'd be glad that she was finally moving on. Not that she had stopped loving Hatori. She would never stop loving her first husband. But now Shiori was ready to love someone else too.

They arrived at the house and when they went inside they found Barago watching TV while Shuichi and Sara did schoolwork at the kitchen table. Overcome with a rush of emotion, Shiori lunged forward and wrapped Shuichi in a bear hug. The action was so unexpected that she actually managed to get a yelp of surprise from him.

"Mother, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I just thought you needed a hug," Shiori said with a smile. "You'll help me with dinner tonight, won't you?"

Still looking confused, Shuichi agreed.

"Good. Have fun you two," Shiori said as she walked away. She looked at Caius. "Help me in the office?"

Caius nodded and repeated his words from the park. "As you wish."

* * *

Hope you liked the chapter! Next chapter will be out on** March 19.**


	20. Chapter 20

Kuwabara stumbled into the kitchen in the early morning hours. Shizuru stood leaning against the counter, smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee.

"What are you doing up so early little brother?"

Kuwabara walked to the refrigerator and got the orange juice carton. He drank straight from the carton, making Shizuru take a swipe at the back of his head, "How many times have I told you not to do that!"

"Sorry sis." He rubbed his eyes, "I have training today." He leaned against the counter beside his sister. "I stuck to the story we discussed."

"Yeah?" Shizuru drank some coffee. "They buy it?"

Kuwabara nodded, "They seemed too."

"How powerful are they?"

Kuwabara hesitated before answering, "Right now, none of them could defeat any of us, but . . ."

Shizuru glanced sharply at her little brother, "But what?"

"They aren't bad people!" He turned to face her full on, "They think they are protecting everyone by exterminating the yokai, but they don't understand the truth!"

"And what is the truth little brother?"

Kuwabara looked at his shoes, "That not everyone is just good, or bad." He looked up, "People are not just black or white, but every color of the rainbow."

"That's right." Shizuru took a long draw on her cigarette and breathed out, watching the smoke curl up, "I know that, you and most your friends know that, but a lot of people, especially people that have been attacked, only see things in black and white."

She knocked the ash into the ashtray. Walking out, she called over her shoulder, "You'll just have to convince them, little brother. If you don't. . ."

"Yeah, I know," he rubbed the back of his head, "You'll give me a good hit."

She stopped at the door, "No, if you don't, then things will descend into a bloody war." She continued walking on out the front door, "Going to work, see you later little brother."

Kuwabara stood at the kitchen counter in shock. _No, I won't allow it to become a war. I can't, on my honor as a man!_

He glanced at the kitchen clock, _but for now I have to go to training_.

Kuwabara stretched his senses as far as he could, until he felt a slight twinge of pain, the same as he did every morning. And every morning his senses reached just a little farther.

Right now, there was nothing dangerous in the area, just the normal yokai that lived in the area peacefully enough.

He quickly showered and dressed in some of his old training clothes. He glanced at the mirror and fiddled with his hair a bit. "Alright Kazuma Kuwabara it's time to put that mask on again."

He left the apartment, making sure the door was locked behind him before running down the stairs and jogging to the temple. It at least provided him with an easy warm-up.

The gates were closed, but he had been warned about that yesterday, so he pushed on through and carefully shut the gates behind him.

The first thing that greeted him was Isamu. "Kuwabara! We get to train together today!" Isamu bounced up to him.

"Yeah, should be fun right?" Kuwabara glanced around, trying to get a count on the number of people already in the courtyard.

"Yep!" Isamu watched Kuwabara for a moment. "Mizuko isn't here yet."

"Oh?" Kuwabara glanced down at Isamu, "Well, she does have to come from across town, from whatever temple she lives at."

He paused, watching a man call up a small ball of spirit energy to the wonderment and awe of a group of girls. "So have you looked at the group already? What do you think of them?"

Isamu looked up with big eyes at Kuwabara, "You're asking my opinion?"

"Sure," Kuwabara nodded, "You're a smart kid."

Isamu nodded, "Got that right!" He looked around and pointed to a man leaning against the side of the dojo, "That man over there has the highest spirit energy here, after you and me of course. The rest of the people here are barely able to physically manifest their energy." He paused, then said in a whisper to Kuwabara, "I think that Masti and Shaya wouldn't have put half the people here in this group of they weren't so desperate for fighters."

Kuwabara considered the statement. Isamu was probably right. The people here could all call up their energy, but considering how excited Masti and Shaya had gotten over his little display of power, then most the people here where probably like the man he saw earlier—not able to make a weapon, but just able to call forth their energy.

"I think there are maybe five or so people here that can make weapons, Isamu, including us two." Kuwabara added to Isamu's statement.

"So with Mizuko that makes six of us?"

"Did I hear someone say my name?" A sing-song voice from behind them called.

Kuwabara and Isamu turned around to see Mizuko bouncing towards them.

"Hey Mizuko." Kuwabara greeted.

"Hi," Isamu eyed Mizuko, "you're wearing weird clothes. Is it a costume?"

Mizuko gasped, "You've never seen a priestess's garb before?"

Isamu shook his head.

"Well, get a good look, cause this is the only practice I'm going to wear them to!" Mizuko twirled in place, her red and white clothing flaring around her. "Dad insisted that I wear them to make a good impression on the first day of training, but I don't like them."

Kuwabara couldn't resist, "Why not? They are a traditional part of yokai exterminating."

Mizuko pouted, "They're not cute! I wanted to wear something cute today!"

Kuwabara and Isamu glanced at each other, and then just shook their heads slightly. _Girls._

"Alright!" A booming voice broke out over the crowd, "It's time to get started!"

Kuwabara looked over the heads of the crowd and saw Masti and Shaya standing at the entrance to the building.

"I want everyone to come in and line up in practice formation in the inner courtyard, got it? Then move!" Shaya was even louder than Masti.

"Let's go guys!" Mizuko grabbed each of the guys' hands, "We should stand together!"

The people all flowed into the inner courtyard and lined up in a couple of lines; with those that didn't know what practice formation was quickly being nudged into line by those that did.

"We will start with a general warm-up followed by a separation into two groups. Shaya will take one group and I will take another." Masti instructed.

Shaya and Masti then led the group through a meditation, followed by a physical warm up.

"Now that you're all warmed up, we will be working in two groups." Masti called out a list of names, "Those that I just called out will be working will Shaya today." Kuwabara noted that there were only six names on the list and it included him and his friends. "Everyone else will be working with me, and trust me, you're the lucky ones!" Masti concluded with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Everyone Masti called out, come with me now!" Shaya shouted.

The six people called out followed Shaya through a doorway into a smaller courtyard.

"Well, my pretties, you are in my group, because you are the most advanced of the A1 group. You are all able to create weapons with your spirit energy, not just make a little glow." Shaya paced in front of them. "You will all be training together and fighting together, so I want you all to know each other and trust each other. So before we start, we'll going to go around and introduce ourselves, and please state your weapon form as well."

She finally stopped pacing, "I'll start. My name, as you all know, is Shaya. As you can see I use a sword mainly, but my spirit energy takes the form of a shield or a battering ram, whatever you want to call it." She finished with a wicked grin. "Now gather in a circle and let's go around."

Mizuko jumped forward first, "Hello! My name is Mizuko and I'm a priestess." She bounced in place, gesturing to her clothing. "It's nice to meet all of you!" She smiled widely and turned to step back into the group, then stopped, spinning in place. "Oh, and my weapon is a spirit arrow." She waved the bow in her hand at the group.

The man Kuwabara had seen showing off to the girls stepped up next. He was a tall, slick looking young man, with short brown hair. "Hello, my name is Kirui, and my weapon is a boomerang, that can literally go boom." He finished his introduction with a smirk and a wink.

A girl like of whom Kuwabara had rarely seen stepped forward. She had black hair, but it had pink, blue, and green mixed in. She was wearing tights with a full skirt, a black shirt with a skull, and heavy boots. "Salutations, my name is Chouko, my weapon is a mace." Her glare around the group challenged anyone to make a comment.

Isamu jumped up. "Hey, my name is Isamu, and my weapon is a bouncing ball." There was some twittering from the group at his age, which Isamu answered with a glare.

The man Kuwabara had spotted leaning against the wall stepped forward. He had shoulder-length black hair pulled into a low pony-tail and an attitude that worried Kuwabara; it reminded him of a big predator, knowing exactly when to attack and when to wait for _just_ the right moment. "My name is Arashi, and my energy forms into two sai."

_Well_, Kuwabara thought, _that's close to my dagger that I'm pretending to have. His does seem to suit him quite a bit actually, but I wonder if he could learn how to extend them into swords like me?_ _Focus! I need to keep an eye on this guy._

Now it was Kuwabara's turn to introduce himself. "Good morning, my name is Kuwabara, and my weapon is a dagger." He thought he heard a slight snort from Kirui, but it could just have been his ears tricking him…nah, it was definitely a derisive snort. _Joy._

"Good." Shaya took her place at the head of the small group again, "Now that all my little kittens know each other, it's time to get to work."

* * *

AN-So after a long break, we are back! Hopefully we won't need to take another break like that since we are out of college for the summer! Yay summer! You can expect the next update of WTCM on May 27th.


	21. Chapter 21

Beni ran a brush through her hair listlessly Monday morning. She wasn't even sure why she bothered. After all Shuichi, her idol, her love, absolutely despised her. And what for? For the lies and deceptions of that evil siren who had blinded him.

_Shuichi hates me. He absolutely hates me._

The thought had been swirling through her mind endlessly since that nightmarish moment that Shuichi had told off her and the other officers of the (disbanded) Shuichi Minamino fan club. When the club folded, Beni had lost everyone she'd considered a friend, because they all blamed her for Shuichi's anger. Her parents had yet to notice anything was bothering Beni (and they probably never would).

Beni was alone with her pain; completely and utterly alone.

Beni slammed her hairbrush down and fought to keep the tears from spilling over. It was all _her_ fault! That skank had turned Shuichi against Beni; all her pain was Sara's doing.

A new life fired through Beni's veins. So Shuichi hated her. Fine. She'd give him a reason to hate her. She'd ruin Sara: her reputation, her grades, any and all pleasure she might have found at school. Sara had ruined Beni's life, so Beni was going to make Sara's school life a living Hell.

Beni braided her hair and applied some makeup, encouraged by her new found plans to dress up a bit. Tossing her bag over her shoulder, Beni left her empty house behind and walked to school, imagining all the things she could do to Sara.

Her resources were a bit more limited now that the fan club would no longer be her mindless lackeys; however, that didn't mean Beni had no one's services to pull on. There were quite a few members of the student body that she had blackmail on.

Beni smiled for the first time in days. Sara's systematic torture was about to begin.

* * *

Sara happily walked down the sidewalk with Kurama. She was looking forward to finally returning to school. She hadn't quite finished all of her makeup work, but thanks to Kurama's help she had managed to make a good start on it.

"Sara!"

Sara turned at the happy squeal just in time for Maya to catch her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're better!" Maya said.

Sara smiled, pleased with the fact that Maya so openly showed she'd worried about Sara. "I am too. Thanks for the concern."

Maya linked arms with her and pulled her ahead of Kurama and Kaito, who had arrived with Maya. Maya eagerly began talking about what had been going on at school and in their classes while Sara had been away. Sara let the chatter wash over her without adding much herself. She was happy to let Maya carry the conversation.

They made it to the school quickly. Maya walked Sara to her locker while the guys went on their ways to their lockers.

"Have you gotten caught up on your make up work yet?" Maya asked.

"Not all of it," Sara said. "But Shuichi helped me with it, and I've made a good headway."

"That's good," Maya said. "Let's go meet Shuichi in class now."

Sara hefted her books and they walked along to the classroom. On the way, Sara couldn't help but notice the way people seemed to be watching her. They would glance quickly at her, or point, and then turn away whispering.

Sara bit her lip uncertainly. Why was everyone staring like that? Or was she just being paranoid?

_But there's no reason for them to stare at me. Sure I was missing for a week, but none of these people know me, and I don't know them._

Whatever the reason for their stares, Sara was getting uncomfortable. She tried to ignore it when as class started, but it never seemed to stop. Sara shifted uncomfortably, finding it difficult to concentrate.

The staring and whispers continued on throughout her next class, and all the way to lunch. By that time Sara's nerves were stretched thin, and it showed.

"Is something wrong, Sara?" Kurama asked as he took the seat beside her.

Sara dropped her eyes to her lunch. She might have talked to Kurama if it had been just the two of them, but even though she liked Maya and Kaito, she wasn't comfortable enough with them to talk about what was bothering her while they were there.

"It's nothing," she said.

She glanced up from her lunch just in time to see the three of them exchange looks. With a sinking feeling, Sara realized they all knew what was going on, even if she didn't. Hesitantly, Sara asked, "Why are they staring at me?"

"Who wouldn't stare at you?" asked a loud, mocking voice from behind her. "After all, it's not every day you get to see a _murderer's_ daughter."

Sara's whirled around in her seat to stare into Beni's mocking, disdainful eyes. She knew…She _knew._ But how? Sara hadn't told anyone! Kurama knew that Harold had been sent back to the States to be tried for her mother's death, and Shiori knew, but no one else knew! No one else was ever supposed to find out!

Kurama stood and put himself between Sara and Beni. "That's enough."

Beni stared coolly at him. "And why should I care what you think?"

That didn't make sense either; wasn't Beni obsessed with Kurama? What had happened during the week Sara had been gone?

"You do not want me as your enemy," Kurama said quietly enough that Sara almost missed the words.

Beni scoffed. "You don't get it do you? You can't hurt me anymore. You can't hurt me; but I can hurt her. All you've done is made things worse." Beni whirled around then and walked off before Kurama could say anything else.

Everyone stayed still in a stunned silence for a moment, and then the whispers started. The awful, horrible whispers that meant everyone knew, and no one was ever supposed to know, no one was supposed to see her, she was supposed to be invisible, _no one was supposed to know._

Suddenly Sara felt like the room was crushing her, as thought the ceiling and walls were closing in and she needed to get _out_ and get _away. _Without even thinking about what she was doing, Sara shoved away from the table and ran out the cafeteria, conscious only of her need to get someplace safe. But where was safety? Never in her whole life had Sara felt truly safe, not completely, except when…

And then Sara knew just where she needed to go.

Kurama caught up with her just as she made it to the front doors of the school. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "Sara, wait a minute," he started.

Sara yanked herself away from him. "I won't stay here!" she said. She knew she sounded hysterical, but she didn't care right now. She had to go, she had to get away!

"Sara, just calm down," Kurama soothed. "It'll be okay."

Maya and Kaito showed up in the hall then, and for Sara that was the last straw. Emotions she'd bottled up for so long behind meekness and fear boiled over, all the shame, the rage, all of it, boiled over.

"It's not okay!" Sara screamed. "It'll _never_ be okay! He _hurt_ me, Kurama, and no one was supposed to know, and now they all know, and they think I'm a freak, and _I am_, and, and, you can't help me! You can't fix anything! You can't!"

Sara whirled around and ran then, out of the school, down the street, and back towards Shiori's house. She'd only made it a few blocks though when the emotional stress forced her to stop and sick up in some bushes. She heard someone run up behind her and felt them pull her hair back out of the way. Once Sara was done heaving, she knocked the hands away, and looked up to see Maya's face.

Sara was startled to see it was Maya that had followed her. She'd fully expected to see Kurama's green eyes staring down at her, not Maya's flushed and sweaty face. The surprise kept her still long enough to Maya to start talking.

"You're right," Maya said. "We can't fix what happened to you in the past; no one can ever change that. What's done is done. But Sara…You don't have to keep shouldering this pain alone. Let us help you. Let us walk with you, every step of the way, wherever you go, and together we can make the future better than the past."

Tears slipped unchecked down Sara's face. "Why would you do that?"

Maya held out her arms. "Because I'm your friend, Sara, and that's what friends do."

Sara lurched forward and held tightly to Maya.

"Where do you want to go?" Maya asked.

"I want my Uncle," Sara said. "He's at Kurama's house."

"Okay," Maya said. "We'll go together."

* * *

Kurama stood frozen in the hallway, not even moving when Maya dashed by him to go after Sara. Her parting words kept echoing in his head.

_You can't fix anything!_

But had he even tried? Had he truly tried to help heal the emotional scars that Sara would be carrying from her life of abuse? He'd planned to pretend to be her boyfriend until she got strong enough to stand on her own, to be independent of others. Had Kurama ever done anything, _anything,_ to prepare her for a time when she wouldn't need him?

_I haven't helped her at all,_ Kurama realized. _If I wasn't helping her, why was I keeping her with me?_

That was a question Kurama wasn't sure he could answer. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer it. The possibilities behind it were disturbing to say the least.

"Kurama!"

Kurama snapped to attention to find Kaito glaring at him. "Would you snap out of it already?" Kaito said. "Sara needs you right now, so go after her!"

Kaito was right; Kurama needed to catch up to her. He left the school and hesitated for a second; where would Sara have gone?

_She would have gone somewhere she felt safe…Home. She would have gone home._

Kurama raced back to his house, and when he got there he found Sara curled up like a child in Barago's lap while the kitsune comforted her. Maya was sitting on the couch beside them looking worried, and Caius seemed to be keeping himself scarce, which was just as well.

Kurama stepped in the room and Barago actually glared at him, as though her current state was all his fault, which was unfair, because it wasn't Kurama's fault. Beni was the one who had hurt Sara's feelings so badly.

_But you were the one who pushed Beni to that point._

How was he supposed to have known that Beni would react like this when he told her to disband his fan club?

_Aren't you the strategist? The one who's supposed to see every possibility before making a move? How did you miss seeing this coming?_

Sara quieted, and Kurama wanted to reach over and touch her shoulder, but doubted that Barago would welcome any such move on his part.

"Sara," Kurama said softly, and she looked at him, her eyes red and puffy. Suddenly Kurama was at a loss for what to say. 'Are you okay?' seemed stupid, and anything else he could think of seemed trivial.

He finally settled for, "I'm going to help you get through this."

Sara shook her head. "No. No, I'm not going back there. Not now, not ever."

"But Sara," Kurama started.

Sara shook her head, stopping him. "No, Kurama. I've made up my mind. I'm not going back to school. Not now, not ever."

"But why?" Kurama asked. Surely Beni's words hadn't hurt her that badly. Surely there was no reason for Sara to quit school.

"Because I'm not ready for this," Sara said. "I'm not ready for any of it. Let's face it, my school career is going nowhere, I can't handle people, and, and I'm not ready for _us_."

She was breaking up with him, Kurama realized. Which was what was supposed to happen. Kurama's whole plan had been for Sara to grow strong enough that she wouldn't need him anymore; so why did the thought of her leaving him make him feel so sick inside?

"I'm sorry," Sara said. "I'm so sorry. I do care about you a lot, but my feelings for you aren't enough for me to get past everything that's happened. I thought they would be, but they're not. I need to get stronger by myself before I can even think about being in a relationship. I'm sorry."

"I understand," Kurama said, but the words rang hollow to his ears. Why did this hurt so bad when it was the very thing he'd been hoping for?

Sara turned to Barago then. "I want to go back to Genkai's temple. Can you train me there?"

Barago nodded. "If Genkai is fine with it, so am I."

Sara stood then and went upstairs, presumably to start packing her things, without so much as a glance at Kurama.

"Um, I think I'll head home now."

Kurama's gaze snapped over to Maya. He'd completely forgotten she was there. His mind scrambled, trying to think of things she might have heard that she shouldn't have. "I'll walk you home," he volunteered.

She stood and nodded to Barago. "It was nice to meet you sir."

Barago stood as well. "Likewise. Thank you for bringing Sara here."

"It was no problem," Maya said.

Kurama and Maya walked out the door and down the street in silence at first. Kurama decided that the only thing Maya would have heard that she really shouldn't have was his name, which could be explained, and the mention of Genkai which would be a bit harder to explain, but Kurama was sure he could manage.

Finally, Maya looked up at him and spoke. "Shuichi, I'm so sorry."

Kurama was momentarily stumped. He hadn't expected that though he really should have. "It's fine Maya."

Maya didn't look convinced. "I know you might not want to confide in a girl," Maya said, "but if you ever need to talk about anything I'm here for you."

Kurama knew he'd probably never confide in Maya about about Sara or anything else. It would be too risky.

_If it's so risky, why do I stay friends with Maya?_

Why hadn't he let their friendship die when he'd erased her memories about that night when she'd been kidnapped? That would have been best for Maya. Could the answer to that question be the same as the reason why he'd never tried to help Sara work past her nightmares? The same as the reason why he'd never told Shiori about the existence of yokai even though the knowledge would have actually worked to make her safer?

_I didn't want to lose them_, Kurama admitted to himself. _I wanted to keep them dependent on me_.

Which was incredibly cruel and selfish. It was a side of himself that Kurama didn't like.

_Looks like Sara isn't the only one who isn't ready for a relationship_.

"I'll see you later, Shuichi."

Kurama looked down at Maya. He ought to make sure that Maya wouldn't ask questions about this later. But looking into her compassion filled eyes, and thinking about what he had just realized about himself, Kurama couldn't bring himself to do anything.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow."

* * *

Maya watched as Shuichi walked away. She was worried about him, Sara, and the whole situation. She was also curious about the things she had heard while at Shuichi's house, but she knew that now was not a good time to ask. It might never be a good time to ask. Shuichi was the most secretive person she'd ever met in her life, and it hurt every time she realized that Shuichi didn't completely trust her.

_Come to think of it, I doubt if Shuichi trusts anyone. That's not a healthy way to live_.

Maya's thoughts were interrupted when a voice said, "Excuse me, miss."

Maya turned to see a young man who looked to be about college age with a shaved head and kind brown eyes looking at her. "May I speak with you a moment?"

"Sure," Maya said, but she was smart enough not to invite a stranger into her house. She remained standing out on the sidewalk waiting for him to speak.

"My name is Daimo. I was wondering what you might know about yokai."

Maya blinked. That was a topic she hadn't thought about in a long time. She had gone through a phase in middle school where she'd been obsessed with the supernatural, but she'd given up on that because...why had she given up on it? She couldn't remember why.

"I know about as much as anyone, I guess," Maya said. "Why do you ask?"

Daimo frowned. "As I thought, you aren't aware of your potential."

Maya was starting to be a bit creeped out. "Potential for what? Or do I even want to know?"

"What would you say if I told you yokai were real?" Daimo asked.

"Yokai aren't…"

_She was being dragged down the street, a foul smelling hand covering her mouth. Maya struggled desperately, but her strength was no match for the thing that had jumped out of the bushes and grabbed her._

Maya doubled over in pain, clutching her head. Where were these images coming from?

_Shuichi was there, and a short black haired boy Maya had never seen before (why did he have red eyes and a sword?), and they—Oh God, oh God, they killed it! Blood was everywhere, but it had been going to eat her, and _what was Shuichi?

Maya was only vaguely aware of the fact that Daimo caught her before she could collapse to the ground. He called to her from what seemed like a great distance.

"Why'd she call him Kurama? Why?" Maya muttered.

_She was safe and warm, and Shuichi was taking her home. "Don't worry, Maya," he said, as a strange, sweet smell filled her nostrils. "Soon this will be nothing more than a bad dream."_

Maya's eyes snapped open and she looked up at Daimo. Without even thinking, she said, "Shuichi isn't human."

* * *

AN-So...don't kill us for this chapter? Please?


	22. Chapter 22

Shuichi isn't _human_. _Shuichi_ isn't human. _Shuichi isn't human._ The thought ran around her head, blocking out everything else, even the voice of the young man trying to speak to her.

How could she not have seen he wasn't normal? He was always disappearing and coming back with an explanation of how he had been _sick?_ Shuichi was never sick when he was younger. How could she have been so blind? And when she got her hands on him…He would regret not telling her! She was one of his best friends…at least she thought she was. They were best friends on _her part_ of the friendship.

"—eed help?" the man's voice, Daimo, finally broke through. "Miss, are you alright?"

"Yes," Maya managed to say. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Can you stand?"

Maya flushed, realizing Daimo was still holding her. She scrambled up. "I'm fine!"

Daimo stood with her, "In that case Miss…"

"Maya."

"Miss Maya, would you mind coming with me? I would like you to meet some people that can help you and you can help them."

"Help me how?"

"Well, you apparently know someone that isn't human. They would be very interested in learning about him, and they could give you some information on what he _really_ is."

Maya nodded, "Okay, I'll go with you."

* * *

The twins Noma and Nomi stood in front of their leader. They each had short brown hair with a lighter shade of brown for their eye color.

Their leader was dressed in white, with a veil of mourning covering her face. Beside her, in the shadows, stood her closest friend and adviser to the leader of the Society of Light. He wore no veil, but had thick black hair reaching his shoulders and bright blue eyes.

"Well," he demanded, "did you find it?"

"Yep!" Noma answered.

"Sure did!" his brother also responded.

"Good," the Lady purred, "I will assume you set some guards on it while you came to report?"

"Did you hear brother?" Nomi cried.

"I heard dear brother, but I can't believe it!" Noma sobbed, grabbing his twin in a hug, "The Lady doubts us!"

"Oh, enough you two," the Lady waved a hand at them, "You two are such clowns! Even on serious business."

"What can we say?"

"We keep the joy of the entire Society up, just by being ourselves!"

The adviser shook his head in exasperation.

"Even you Navori!"

The Lady glanced at her adviser, "They do have you there Navori, even you laugh at their antics sometimes."

"Antics!" Noma groaned.

"We do no antics, my Lady. We are just being ourselves!" Nomi bowed.

"Very well. But enough of this." The Lady was clearly done with humor. "I want you two to stay at the gateway. Kill any yokai coming through. Follow it when it jumps to another location; it won't jump far. I trust you can handle this?"

The twins bowed in unison, "Of course, my Lady!"

"Good. I have faith you can handle anything that come through that gateway." Her head turned towards the door. "I'm afraid our time today is come to an end. Daimo is coming to see me, and he's bringing a guest."

"Ooh, a guest for the Lady!"

"Get out." The Lady's weary voice held an undercurrent of humor.

"As you wish!" The twins left the Lady's chamber, the door swinging shut behind them.

* * *

Maya looked around nervously. Maybe her decision to go with a complete stranger hadn't been the best choice in her life.

She had felt reassured when they entered the temple, but walking down its long hallways was just making her jumpy.

"Don't worry Maya, the Lady is wonderful and will be able to answer all your questions." Daimo pushed ahead with confidence.

Maya just nodded her head; she was getting a bad feeling like this. After all, who was called the Lady?

"Here we are." Daimo knocked carefully at the door. "My Lady, it is I, Daimo, and a guest."

A woman's voice, strong and assured, answered, "Yes, I know Daimo. Enter, please."

Daimo pushed the door open and Maya followed him in.

The room was darker than the hallway, but Maya could immediately make out a woman dressed in white, with a veil covering her face.

_She looks like, well like a ghost in the color of death_, Maya thought worriedly.

Then her attention was drawn to the man standing behind the woman. He was a tall man, especially for a Japanese man, with black hair to his shoulders and with what appeared to be blue eyes.

_At least that explains his height_; _he obviously has some foreign blood._

"Hello Daimo. Hello child." The woman's voice was welcoming.

Daimo bowed, "Greetings, my Lady."

Maya followed with a jerked bow, "Uh, hello."

"And what is your name?"

"My name is Maya."

"And why has Daimo brought you to me today?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure." Maya glanced at Daimo, "I'm very confused about this entire situation."

"Maya says she knows someone that's not human, someone named Shuichi." Daimo eagerly shared.

The Lady's head whipped to Maya. "You know a yokai?"

Maya fidgeted, "Well, yes. I mean I didn't know he wasn't human, but I found out in middle school and he erased my memory! Oh, when I get my hands on him—Anyways I just remembered tod- " Maya stopped, realizing she was babbling. But she still couldn't believe he erased her memory!

"So you've known this yokai a long time?"

"Yeah, for years. He's one of my best friends."

The man behind the Lady finally spoke up. "A best friend? Surely not!" He scoffed, "Yokai are vile vicious creatures that have no human emotions or attachments."

Maya crossed her arms and eyed the dark man, "Oh yeah? Well, Shuichi does!"

"Maya, but he has lied to you for years. How could he feel anything for you?" The Lady questioned.

Maya was getting annoyed. "Yes, he lied to me. But he saved me from a yokai that was going to eat me! And as soon as I talk to him, I'll find out why he lied to me."

"He's a danger!" The dark man snarled.

"Peace Navori," The Lady soothed. "Maya, what is your friend's name?"

"It's Shuichi M-" Maya stopped herself, "Why do you want to know who he is?"

"We wish to meet with him and…discuss some things."

_No._ Everything within Maya was telling her _not_ to tell them anything about Shuichi.

"No." Maya covered her mouth. She didn't mean to say that! She was going to ask what things!

"No? And why not?" The Lady's voice was still friendly.

_Whatever, might as well tell the truth now_. "I don't trust you."

The dark man, Navori, narrowed his eyes. "You don't trust us! But you would trust that, that creature!" He spat.

Maya straightened her shoulders, "Yes."

The dark man took a step forward, but the Lady's voice stopped him. "That is fine Maya. You may trust who you wish. Just please be careful, very careful."

Maya felt her heart lighten; maybe these people weren't so bad.

"I'll be fine." She paused. Maybe they would know something about his name, they seemed experts on yokai. "Hey, since you guys seem like you know a lot about yokai, can you answer a question for me?"

"Of course."

"Does the name Kurama mean anything to you?"

The warmth fled the room. "_Yoko Kurama?_" The Lady asked, in a chilled tone.

Mina carefully shrugged, "I don't know. It's just a name I remember reading in a book somewhere." Her heart pounded as she told her lie.

The Lady relaxed, "If the book was referring to Yoko Kurama, then he was a yokai, the King of Thieves, a cold-hearted, murdering yokai, one of the worst, especially since he lived for many millennia."

"Oh," Maya heard herself saying in a small voice.

She must have been mistaken, or Shuichi was a different Kurama.

There's no way he was a bad person.

"Now go in peace." It was clearly a dismissal.

Daimo escorted Maya out, leaving just Navori and the Lady in the room.

"My Lady, surely you don't mean to just let her go! Her _friend_ might kill her anytime!"

"No, no my dear friend, I do not. Tell one of our trackers to follow her; find out where she lives and goes to school. Then send a couple of the A1 group to befriend her, some of the ones her age. Let Masti and Shaya pick them." She paused. "They will be able to find out just who this Shuichi is, and stop him from killing anyone."

"As you wish." Navori quickly left to do his Lady's bidding.


	23. Chapter 23

Ashja got out of bed early Tuesday morning and slipped into his dark room. He had lots and lots of new pictures in there, and almost all of them were of the same person.

Sara.

Ashja studied his favorite picture, one he had taken on Sunday after everyone but Sara had left the house. It showed Sara kneeling in front of the rose bush and clump of tulips by the front steps. Her hair was pulled back in a braid, the blending of green and brown strands fascinated Ashja, showing off delicate elf-like ears. Her tail, long and brown and oh so touchable, peaked out from beneath the bottom of her shirt and over the top of her capris, falling down to curl around her knees. The expression on her face was relaxed, gentle and happy.

In all his twelve years, Ashja had never seen a girl quite as beautiful.

Actually, Ashja had never really noticed girls at all before. Sure they were there, but they were far less important than his friends, or his camera. But Sara was so different from any girl he'd seen before; she was exotic, like some kind of fairy princess or something.

_I wish I could do a photo shoot of her,_ Ashja thought as he started to put pictures in the scrapbook he was keeping. But he was pretty sure that asking her to model for him wouldn't go over well.

'Hey, excuse me miss, you don't know me, but I live next door to you, and I'd really, really love it if you'd agree to model for me and let me take a bunch of pictures of you. I can't pay you 'cause I'm only twelve and don't have money, but I promise I won't sell your pictures! I'll just keep them to admire myself.'

Ashja snorted. Yeah, that would work _so_ well.

So Ashja was stuck to taking whatever pictures he could from his hiding places, which wasn't all bad. It meant he could get lots of natural looking pictures, since none of them knew that Ashja was taking them, and though he had taken more pictures of Sara than anyone else, he'd gotten a few pictures of everyone over there.

After Sara Ashja was most intrigued by the one he'd nicknamed Cat Man (although he had heard someone refer to him as Barago). He looked enough like Sara that Ashja was pretty sure they were actually related. It was also fairly obvious that neither of them was human, but if they weren't human, then what exactly were they? Some sort of human cat hybrid?

The same went for that other man, Caius. Ashja had managed to get a picture of him that showed he had pointy ears too. But he didn't have a tail or anything like that, so he probably wasn't whatever Sara and Cat Man were. Based solely on the ears, Ashja would be betting on elf, but he wasn't sure.

And if those three weren't human, what did that mean about Mrs. Shiori and Shuichi? They had always seemed normal enough to Ashja.

_Yeah, except their plants move by themselves, oh, and Shuichi can walk through walls._

Ashja still wasn't sure how Shuichi had disappeared that day in the alley, and at this point he considered walking through walls a real possibility. There was also the fact that Shuichi didn't look like any other person Ashja had ever seen, including Mrs. Shiori.

_I always figured his dad was probably a foreigner, _Ashja thought. _But what if his dad wasn't even human?_

It made sense with everything Ashja had found. Mrs. Shiori was probably human; she seemed the most normal of them all.

Ashja could feel himself getting excited at this line of thought. He thought at first that they might just be wizards or something, which was cool enough, but to think that he'd found a whole race of people that most humans probably didn't know about…

Ashja didn't even try to check his grin as he put away the scrapbook and hurriedly dressed. If he got lucky, he might get some more pictures before he had to leave for school. He grabbed his camera and slipped out of the house. Making sure no one from the Minamino house was around to spot him, Ashja dashed for the fence that separated the two houses. On his side of the fence there was a row of thick bushes, and it was in a small space in between two of these that Ashja hid himself.

He didn't have to wait long before the front door opened, and Sara and Cat Man walked out, followed by Mrs. Shiori, and at a slight distance, Shuichi.

_Why are Sara and Cat Man holding suitcases?_

"I wish you didn't feel like you had to leave," Mrs. Shiori said.

"It's for the best," Cat Man replied.

Mrs. Shiori sighed. "I suppose you're right. You will come visit us though, won't you?"

"Yes ma'am," Sara said, and Mrs. Shiori hugged her.

Ashja sat where he was, frozen. She was leaving? But she couldn't be leaving! Ashja had only just figured out how amazing she was! He'd never even gotten a chance to talk to her!

"We'd better go, Sara," Cat Man said. "If we don't hurry we'll miss our bus."

"Okay, Uncle Barago," Sara said. She looked back at Shuichi, who was still standing on the steps with his hands in his pockets.

When Shuichi met her eyes, he simply said, "Good luck," and walked in the house.

Ashja saw the way Shuichi's response made Sara cringe, and he was caught with an irrational anger. How _dare_ Shuichi be so cold to Sara? He ought to be on his hands and knees begging her to stay!

…_I ought to be begging her to stay…_

Except Sara didn't even know who he was, so it wouldn't make a difference anyways. So Ashja watched, heart breaking, as Sara and Cat Man walked away, knowing he'd probably never see her again.

Ashja sat there for long minutes, even after Mrs. Shiori had gone back inside the house. The pain seemed to build up inside him, until he couldn't stand the idea of going inside his own home to parents who would want to know what was wrong, nor could he stand the idea of going to school with friends who wouldn't understand.

Finally, Ashja crawled out of the bushes and ran, camera slapping against his chest hanging from the strap around his neck. He ran with no set destination in mind, and wound up in the park where his mother used to take him to play when he was little.

Ashja roughly rubbed at his eyes. It wasn't fair! He'd only just discovered how amazing a girl could be, and she left him without even giving him a chance to speak to her!

Ashja walked glumly around the park, winding up on a path that led through a small copse of woods. He'd just stepped within the shade of the trees when he heard a yell. Ashja's head snapped up just in time to see a black blur speed towards him, and suddenly an arm from nowhere grabbed him up and he was flying through the air as the ground where he'd just been standing exploded.

Ashja gapped for a moment before looking up at his rescuer, a small teenager with gravity defying black hair, a deep scowl, and vivid, inhuman, _red_ eyes.

"Put the kid down, monster!"

Ashja looked back towards the woods to see two more teens, both male and very obviously twins, standing behind a crater in the ground. Looking at the crater, Ashja realized that's where he'd been standing.

_If this guy hadn't grabbed me, I'd be dead._

The thought made Ashja feel a little sick.

"Or what, you'll kill him too?" the man sneered. "You almost did that already."

_They _were the ones that had done that? Ashja pressed closer to the red-eyed man. Whatever he might be, Ashja was certain that he was more trustworthy than the twins.

One of the twins smiled a definitely not-happy smile. "Look brother, the monster needs to hide behind a little kid to keep away from us. I think he's _scared._"

Ashja was about to protest the little kid comment when the red-eyed man actually _threw_ him into a bush. Unhurt, except for his dignity, Ashja struggled to his feet but his shouts of protest once more froze in his throat at the sight in front of him.

The three teenagers were fighting now, but not like anyone Ashja had ever seen before. The red-eyed man had pulled out a sword from somewhere, and the twins were dodging his swords strokes, and whenever they touched each other they sent sizzling blasts of light at the red-eyed man.

Ashja then did what any budding young photographer would do. He started taking pictures.

He wasn't sure how many of the pictures would turn out well; they moved so fast he had a hard time keeping track of where they were. But if any of the pictures did turn out, they'd be such epic pictures!

But then things took a turn for the worse. The red-eyed man actually managed to stab one of the twins in the leg and jump back. The twin fell and blood poured from the wound.

"Nomi!"

The other twin appeared beside the wounded one, and he looked downright murderous. Latching onto his brother's shoulder, the teen pointed his hand at the red-eyed man and shot of a blast of that deadly light. The swordsman dodged, and it was around that time that Ashja realized he'd been standing right behind the swordsman.

_Oh. Crap._

For the second time that day, the wind was knocked out of Ashja as the red-eyed man snatched him to safety. Only this time, the blast managed to catch the man on the shoulder, burning away part of his shirt, and leaving ugly red marks on the man's shoulder. Despite that, Ashja and his camera both escaped the attack unharmed.

The teen that had shot at them looked pale and horrified, though Ashja wasn't sure why. "We won't forget this!" he yelled. Helping his brother up, they both disappeared.

"Thanks for saving me," Ashja said.

The red-eyed man shoved him away. "Fool! You should have run."

Ashja shuffled guiltily. He was right, Ashja should have run. If he had, then the red-eyed man wouldn't have gotten hurt. "Sorry." Then he brightened. "I'll make it up to you! Come home with me and I'll help you bandage your shoulder!"

The man glared at him. "No." He started to walk away.

"I'm Ashja," Ashja called, running after him. "Could you at least tell me your name?"

The man glared again, and Ashja snapped a picture, startling him. "What was that?"

"I took your picture," Ashja said. "I figured you wouldn't want to tell me your name, I just asked so you'd look at me again."

For a moment he seemed at a loss for words, but then his glare returned full force and he snarled, "Go home." Then he blurred out of sight, but that was all okay, because Ashja had at least one good picture of him. After all, in this city there couldn't be anyone else quite like Ashja's red-eyed hero. It might take a little while, but Ashja was confident he would find out who he was and where he came from. He just needed a little time.

_And while I'm at it, I ought to find out who those twins were,_ Ashja thought. _They're dangerous, and they have to be stopped_.

Not that Ashja thought he could stop them, but maybe if he found enough info on them, he could help his new hero catch them, and then the red-eyed man might think Ashja was cool enough to hang out with.

A dazed smile on his face, Ashja started walking home. This was going to be awesome.

* * *

_Stupid human._

The kid had been more proof that Hiei would never, ever understand humans and the way their minds worked. Not that Hiei wanted to understand humans. They were too far beneath him for him to care how their minds worked.

Far more pertinent than one strange human child was the fact that the Society had people guarding the portal to and from Human World. Hiei had no doubts that it was them; what other group of spiritually gifted humans would be guarding the portal like that? It was definitely a good thing that Koenma had sent Hiei to warn Makai's current ruler about the Society stirring up again. At least they could be sure no new yokai would be trying to come to Human World until this little problem was taken care of.

_I need to warn the others about this._

And of course by 'others' Hiei actually meant Kurama. Hiei knew Kurama could be relied upon to get word to whomever else needed to know about what the Society was doing. Hiei really didn't care who Kurama told, or didn't tell.

Plus, Kurama could give him a salve for his shoulder. Not that Hiei's shoulder wouldn't heal just fine on its own; Kurama's salves just made it happen quicker.

_Stupid human,_ Hiei thought again as his shoulder twanged with pain. What sort of human stood around taking pictures of a dangerous fight like that anyways?

Hiei made it to Kurama's house and vetoed going to the front door in favor of climbing the tree outside of Kurama's window as usual. Hiei scowled through the glass when he saw Kurama's room was empty, and a quick flex of power showed that Kurama wasn't anywhere inside the house.

_Kurama never goes to school this early._

Except apparently sometimes he did, which was incredibly inconsiderate. How was Hiei supposed to know Kurama's schedule if the fox kept changing it?

Annoyed, Hiei settled in the tree. There was nothing for it but to wait for Kurama to come home.

* * *

Kurama moodily walked to school. Over the course of a long night with very little sleep, Kurama had come to two conclusions.

Conclusion Number One: He was a jerk to people he cared about.

This state of affairs was unacceptable to Kurama, and he wanted to fix it. This meant no more keeping Shiori in the dark about his life. She knew enough and still wanted to be involved, so he would let her. He also planned to suggest some self defense classes. It wouldn't be much if a yokai targeted her, but something was better than nothing. Also, as much as he didn't like Caius, Kurama really would try and get along with the man, because that was what would make things easiest for Shiori.

Then there was the situation with Maya. Kurama knew it wasn't fair the way he treated her. He constantly lied to her and kept everything that was real about himself a secret from her. It wasn't fair, and he had no intentions of ever letting Maya get to know what he really was. It wouldn't be safe for her. He had to end their friendship. Maya would be hurt, and she probably wouldn't understand, but in the long run it would be for the best.

Conclusion Number Two: He had unwittingly fallen for Sara.

He wasn't sure when or how, but somehow it had happened. Kurama had no plans to do anything about that though. She had made it quite clear that she wasn't ready for their relationship, and to be honest, neither was he. So, no matter how much it hurt, he was going to leave things as they were. Hopefully they'd both grow and mature and maybe next time they met, they'd be able to give their relationship another chance.

_I hope she'll give me another chance._

That was a bridge he'd cross when he came to it.

The sound of footsteps shook Kurama out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Maya approaching. He hadn't expected to see her on her way to school quite this early, but perhaps it was better this way. Kurama didn't want to break off their friendship in public anyways.

"Good morning, Maya," Kurama said.

Her glare was the Kurama's first clue that something was wrong. But the slap, when it came, was so unexpected that Kurama didn't even try to stop it. He gingerly reached up and touched his stinging face, too shocked to say anything.

"You jerk," Maya hissed. "You complete, unbelievable, lying _jerk._"

For once, Kurama was at a complete loss for words. "I'm sorry, but what?"

Maya trembled with the intensity of her emotions. "I remember _everything._"

Time seemed to stop then. Kurama didn't have to ask what she was talking about, because there was only one thing she could possibly mean. But how did she remember? She should have gone her whole life without ever knowing about that night, when he and Hiei had saved her life. What was he even supposed to do now? Maya knew his secret, and she was hurt; would she try and reveal him?

"How could you do that to me?" Maya demanded. "What gave you the right to erase my memories?"

"I was trying to protect you," Kurama said. It took more effort than usual to keep his voice calm and cool. "I wanted you to have a normal life."

"Oh really," Maya said, not pacified at all. "Well, who asked you to protect me?"

Kurama blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Who asked you to protect me?" Maya said. "Who said you could decide what kind of life I get to lead? Last time I checked, you weren't the boss of me!"

"I only wanted what was best for you," Kurama said, irritation creeping in. He'd only been trying to help her after all. He didn't deserve this sort of backlash.

Maya swallowed. "Did you want what was best for me or best for you?"

Kurama stared at her, but said nothing.

"I knew your secret," Maya said. "I knew you weren't human. I was a liability, wasn't I?"

"That was a part of it," Kurama admitted to Maya, and to himself.

Her eyes filled with tears, though she didn't seem surprised by his answer. "Why couldn't you trust me?"

Kurama sighed. At this point, Maya deserved an answer. "I've had a long, hard life Maya. It is difficult for me to trust anyone; even someone as good as you."

"So now, what?" Maya said. "Are you going to erase my memories again?"

"My skills at erasing memories aren't that selective," Kurama said dryly. "I could make you forget this conversation, but I couldn't make you forget any event that happened years ago without completely erasing all of your memories. I have little choice now but to trust you not to tell others of my secret."

Maya smiled for the first time. "Good. You need a lesson in trusting your friends."

Kurama started a little. "You still want to be my friend? After all this?"

Maya took his hand and started walking towards the school, pulling him along. "You're not getting off that easily. Friends don't give up on each other." She sent him a smile. "Of course, you're going to make up for erasing my memories. I think an ice cream every day after school for the rest of the year should do nicely. Oh, and a promise not to lie to me that you actually mean."

Kurama smiled back, amazed at Maya's boundless capacity for forgiveness. _Now I know why I could never stop being friends with her; she reminded me of Mother._

"I think that's doable," Kurama said. One thing still bothered him, however. "Maya, how did you get your memories back?"

She stopped walking. "Oh, how could I forget? I wanted to warn you about those people."

A cold premonition swept through him. "What people?"

Maya told him then, about meeting Daimo and her collapse when she got her memories back, and being taken to see their 'Lady'. "But they gave me a really icky feeling, so I didn't tell them anything about you. Well, I mean, other than saying 'Shuichi isn't human,' but there are lots of Shuichi's, so that shouldn't really lead them to you, right?" She looked up at him with worry shining in her eyes.

For Maya's sake, Kurama kept his face calm. It wasn't her fault the Society had found her, and really, Kurama was lucky Maya hadn't said more than what she had. But Kurama knew that it wasn't what she'd said that would lead them to him, but Maya herself. The only reason they would have let her go so easily is because they had someone following her to find out about him.

_There's probably someone following us right now._

"You did the best you could under the circumstances, and I thank you for that," Kurama said while his mind scrambled for a plan.

The Society would want to kill him even if they didn't realize he was Yoko Kurama, but they weren't likely to attack him while he was around a large group of humans, as long as he didn't attack anyone because the Society didn't want any humans to be hurt. This meant he'd be safe at school, but they'd be following him to see where he lived, and that would lead them to Mother, which was unacceptable.

_They might not believe she's human because I am not, and kill her. Even if they do believe she's human, they may kill her anyways for being a traitor by raising me and bonding with Caius._

Not that Shiori had really had a choice in either situation, but that wouldn't matter to the Society.

_I have to get Mother out of the house._

Out of the city would be even better.

When they made it to school, they were early enough that there weren't many students there yet.

"I have a call to make," Kurama told Maya. "I'll see you in class later."

Maya looked at him seriously. "Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?"

"Something might," Kurama said. "But I promise I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry," Maya said.

"It isn't your fault," Kurama told her. "Now go on to class."

Maya left and Kurama made his way to a payphone the school had for students to use. He slipped some coins in and dialed his house, knowing Shiori probably wouldn't have left for work yet.

"Hello?" her voice answered.

"Mother, it's me," Kurama said. "May I speak with Caius?"

"Okay, I'll get him," Shiori said, sounding a bit confused.

There were some muffled noises in the background and Caius's voice came on the phone. "What's wrong?" he asked, correctly guessing that Kurama would ask for him only if there was an emergency.

"The Society is following me," Kurama said. "I need you to get Mother out, now."

"Is Genkai's place safe enough?" Caius asked.

Between Caius, Genkai, Yukina and Barago, Kurama was pretty sure Shiori and Sara both would be safe there if some Society member decided to show up. "It's the safest place I can think of right now," Kurama said.

"We'll be gone within ten minutes," Caius said. "Oh, by the way, Hiei's in the tree in the backyard."

"Tell him to meet me at the warehouse. He'll know which one I mean," Kurama said.

"Will do," Caius said. "Good luck."

Kurama walked to class then. He'd stay through the first class to make sure Hiei made it to the warehouse before him. He could probably handle the Society's tracker on his own, but he saw no reason to leave things to chance.

Kurama settled in his desk, prepared to do the hardest part of his plan; waiting.

* * *

Noma and Nomi stumbled into the temple. Noma had managed to stop most of the bleeding from Nomi's leg, but he still needed help fast.

"Noma, Nomi, what happened?"

Noma looked up to see Shaya and Masti rushing towards them. Masti picked Nomi up easily, careful of his wound.

"A yokai came through the portal," Noma told them.

"Did you kill it?" Shaya asked as they walked to the healing quarters.

"It got away," Nomi said with gritted teeth.

"We managed to injure it," Noma said. "But Nomi was hurt and…" He trailed off, unable to talk about the most disturbing part of the fight.

The yokai had saved a human child.

It wasn't that Noma was unhappy about that; he'd never have fired that blast if he'd realized the child was behind the yokai. He just didn't understand _why._ They tortured children for fun, Noma and Nomi knew that from experience. But this yokai had willingly been injured in order to save the life of a human child.

Monsters didn't save children.

Masti took Nomi into the healing rooms, but Shaya stopped Noma from following. "What happened, Noma?"

Noma's fists clenched. "When Nomi got hurt, I shot a ray at the yokai. It dodged, but there was a kid behind him."

Shaya's eyes widened. "Noma, you didn't—"

"The yokai saved him," Noma interrupted.

Shaya paused. "What?"

"The. Yokai. Saved. Him."

Shaya just stared at him.

"It jumped back in the way of the blast to save the kid," Noma said. "That's how it got injured; it let itself get hurt to keep the kid safe."

"What happened to the kid after?" Shaya asked.

Noma faltered. "I-I don't know."

"You just _left_ him there?" Shaya demanded.

"Nomi was hurt," Noma said defensively.

"_Nomi_ knew the risks!" Shaya said. "You left a defenseless _kid_ with a yokai!" She stormed over to the door and yanked it open. "Masti, we're going now!"

When they left, Noma went into the room. Nomi's eyes met his; Noma understood. They both hoped the kid was okay, but nothing and no one was as important to them as each other.

* * *

Shaya stormed down the hall and out the temple, hoping against hope that the child was alright, and trying to not think about the memories of a murdered teenager, and the half eaten child she'd been babysitting.

"What happened?" Masti asked.

"They left a kid in the park with it!" Shaya snarled.

Masti's face became grim, and Shaya didn't have to ask to know he was thinking about that night too, the night that had changed their lives forever. Shaya had sworn she'd never let another parent go through what she'd had to go through.

They made it to the park, and Shaya stood back and let Masti get to work. Masti was a good fighter, but he was an even better tracker with his spirit energy.

"Got him," Masti said. "As far as I can tell, the kid was alive when he left."

That was a relief at least.

"And it doesn't look like he left with the yokai," Masti added as he straightened. "But they went in the same direction."

"Let's follow him," Shaya said. She wanted to make certain the kid was okay.

Masti followed the faint trail left by the kid's presence, and it led them to a neighborhood only a few blocks away.

They strolled along the sidewalk, trying to look inconspicuous to anyone who might see them. "That's the kid's house," Masti said, nodding towards a well kept two story home. "The yokai went to that house," he added, pointing out the house next to the kid's.

Shaya's eyes narrowed. "Is it following the kid?"

Masti shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the yokai left the park first."

Shaya bit her lip. It could be coincidence that they wound up in houses next to each other. It could be, but Shaya didn't believe in coincidences anymore.

The door to the kid's house opened then, and the boy walked out followed by his scolding mother.

"And Ashja, I want you to come straight home after school," she was saying. "I don't want you running off to take pictures without telling me what you're doing again."

"Yes ma'am," the kid, Ashja, said, sounding half annoyed, half resigned.

"Watch that tone, young man!" his mother said.

"Sorry, Mom," Ashja said.

She hugged him then. "Have a good day at school."

Ashja walked off to school, and Shaya let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "He's really okay."

"Yeah," Masti said. "But what'll we do about that one?"

Shaya looked back at the other house where the yokai was. What she wanted to do was go in there and kill it so it wouldn't be a threat to anyone ever again.

_It let itself get hurt to keep the kid safe._

That didn't make sense. It went against everything Shaya knew about yokai. But Noma had seen what he had seen, and Shaya didn't believe he'd make something like that up.

Beside her, Masti stiffened. "What is it?" Shaya asked.

"There's another yokai in there," Masti said. "And I think…Yes, there were another three in there this morning."

Shaya paled. "What, is it a nest for them or something?"

"But there's a human in there too," Masti said.

A human! Whoever it was, they were in great danger. Shaya didn't even think before striding into the yard and up the walk, ignoring Masti's strangled whisper. Shaya only took time to adjust her coat so the wooden sword she was wearing wasn't visible before knocking on the door.

It was opened a minute later by a somewhat frazzled looking woman about ten years older than Shaya. "Can I help you?" she asked brushing hair back from her face.

Shaya could sense enough to know that this was the human. She smiled at the woman and made up the first lie she could think of. "Hello, I'm doing a survey of people in your area. Would you mind answering some questions for me?"

"I'm sorry," the woman said, "but I really don't have time right now."

A man appeared behind her then, and though he looked human, Shaya knew he most definitely wasn't. If the smile he sent her way was anything to judge by, he knew that she knew what he was. The man walked towards them and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder in a possessive manner that Shaya could remember Masti using with her when they had first started dating in college years ago.

"Are you ready to leave, Shiori?" the man asked. Though he wasn't talking to Shaya, his eyes never left her face, and she could read the message there clearly. _This woman is mine; leave her alone or you will regret it._

Shiori glanced uncertainly between the man and Shaya, before saying, "Yes, Caius, just about. I'm sorry, miss, but I really must go."

_She knows,_ Shaya realized. She wasn't a prisoner being held against her will, she knew what this thing was, and she trusted him. That meant she must know about the other yokai that had been staying in this house; it was entirely possibly she'd been harboring them.

_How could you?_

It didn't seem like there was any need to play nice. Shaya glared all her hatred and loathing at Caius. "It doesn't matter where you run to, monster; we're going to kill you." She glared at Shiori as well. "If you have any sense, you'll stay out of our way."

Shiori looked stunned, and Caius put himself in between the two women. "You may try and kill me anytime you like," Caius said. "Except today. Goodbye."

He shut the door, and after a moment Shaya walked back to Masti. Masti looked furious. "Shaya, how could you do something that stupid? If one of our students had done that you'd strangle them."

"I thought the woman might be in danger," Shaya said. "She's working with them!"

Masti paused. "She's what?"

"She knows what they are," Shaya said. "She knows, and she trusts him. I think she was scared of _me_ when she realized that monster didn't like me!"

"You scare lots of people," Masti said, trying to lighten the mood.

Shaya glared at him to show that his jokes were not appreciated.

Masti sighed. "I don't know Shaya. I don't get the way people work. I don't know why some humans think they can trust yokai. I don't know why the yokai Nomi and Noma fought didn't kill that kid in the park. I don't know why this yokai didn't attack you."

"What do you mean, why didn't he attack me?" Shaya asked.

"Think about it; you didn't fight him because there are too many humans here and someone could get hurt. What reason did he have not to attack you? You're part of the Society and you know where he lives now. Why wouldn't he kill you to keep you quiet? He shouldn't care how many would get hurt in the crossfire."

_Masti's right. Why didn't—_

Shaya froze as the reason hit her. "He was protecting her, that woman, Shiori. He wanted her safe."

The twisted irony hit her hard. The yokai, the monster, was protecting a human from the Society of Light.

_But I'm not the monster! He is!_

"Are you sure about that?" Masti asked.

"I told her she'd better stay out of our way, and he put himself between us," Shaya said. "What does that sound like to you?"

Masti frowned, and rubbed his chin. "So we've got a yokai that protected a kid, and another yokai that was willing to protect a woman."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Shaya said. "They're monsters! Monsters don't help people!"

"We'll have to think about this one," Masti said. "But in the meantime, we've got a report to make."

Both lost in thought, they headed back to the temple.

* * *

Kurama slipped out of the school unseen. It was ridiculously easy to get past the teachers and other people in the school. Walking down the sidewalk, Kurama carefully reached out with his energy to see if he was being followed.

_Yes, there._

Just one human, strong, but not strong enough to kill Kurama, even with Kurama holding back because he wasn't allowed to kill the human.

_They really ought to make an exception about humans that are trying to kill us._

Kurama wove in and out of the crowds, making his way to the one warehouse Hiei would know to go to; the one where Hiei and Yusuke had had their first fight. Eventually, the crowds died out, and Kurama decided it was time to let the human know he was aware of him.

Pausing, Kurama looked back and called, "Catch me if you can, human."

Kurama took off at a run, and he felt a thrill when he sensed the human was following him. It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed a chase like this.

Kurama led him into the warehouse where Hiei should be waiting and stopped in the middle of the room. The human followed soon after.

"There's nowhere left for you to run, yokai," the young man sneered.

Kurama smirked. "Who said I was going to run anymore?"

The human lunged, but there was a black blur behind him and the human collapsed on the ground. Hiei glanced up from the human and looked up at Kurama. "You needed my help to deal with that?"

Kurama walked towards him. "Not really. I wished your help to make sure he won't remember anything at all to report to the Society."

"I thought you had plants that could do that," Hiei said.

"It would seem that the memory blocking skills of my plants alone can be undone," Kurama replied. "I thought my plants combined with your Jagan would not prove so vulnerable."

"If we combine the two, he won't remember _anything,_" Hiei said.

As if Kurama didn't already know that. "That only means he will no longer be a threat," Kurama said.

Hiei shrugged. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

It was the work of mere minutes, and they left the human there on the warehouse floor. "What happened to your shoulder," Kurama asked as they left the building.

"The Society found the portal and are guarding it," Hiei said.

Kurama frowned. "They are getting bolder. We need to find Yusuke, and we need to get a report from Kuwabara."

"I thought we weren't supposed to go near the oaf," Hiei objected.

"We are not," Kurama said. "But Yusuke can get a hold of someone humans can't see."

Hiei looked annoyed. "You're going to call Botan."

Kurama smiled. "But of course. It's the only logical thing to do."

Hiei muttered something rude about Kurama's logic, and they went to find Yusuke.

* * *

Kuwabara trudged towards the temple for training after school ended. The past two days of training had been much more difficult than he'd expected. It pushed his strength in different ways than he was used to doing in order to keep his power in check.

Besides the strain of holding his power back, Arashi had proven to be a difficult sparring partner. Kuwabara had fought enough to be able to tell when someone had been in a life and death battle before, and Arashi definitely had. If Kuwabara didn't have to hold back on everything he did, he thought he'd be able to beat the older man, but as it was, Kuwabara was barely managing to hold his own.

"Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara jumped a little and looked up. "Botan!"

She floated down on her oar until she was face level with him. "We need a report. What's going on with the Society?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "I don't really know much yet. They haven't been telling us trainees much of anything."

Botan frowned. "Oh dear, I was worried that might be the case."

"Why, what's happened?"

Botan told him everything that had happened to Hiei and Kurama that day.

Kuwabara paled. "They're planning to hunt Kurama?" Kuwabara wasn't all that worried about Kurama. He'd survive one way or another. The one's he worried about were the poor humans that were going to have no idea what they were getting into.

"And any yokai that goes through the portal," Botan added. "They might even be planning to use the portal to go to Makai and try and wipe out the yokai there."

"I don't think so," Kuwabara said. "They aren't powerful enough to do that right now. They've got some dangerous fighters, but they're way too excited about finding people who can already create weapons with their spirit energy to have any sort of army."

Botan looked thoughtful. "If that's the case, they may just be planning to keep yokai out of this city for a while and try to recruit more humans."

"That'd be my guess," Kuwabara said. He hesitated and asked, "Botan, what's Koenma going to do with them?"

Botan sighed. "I really don't know. Under the current laws no yokai is allowed to kill them, but they are allowed to kill yokai. Koenma's working on getting these laws changed, but going through the proper channels isn't easy."

"But they're not bad people!" Kuwabara said. "They really think they're protecting humans by killing yokai. If I could just make them see that not every yokai is evil."

"I hope you can convince them of that," Botan said sadly. "If they don't back down, this fighting will only continue and get even worse."

Kuwabara was about to respond when he realized, "Oh crap, I'm late! Shaya's going to kill me!"

Kuwabara took off running to Botan's call of, "Good luck!"

He made it to the temple in record time, and slipped in the door, trying to control his panting. He saw Masti working with his group of trainees, so apparently Kuwabara had completely missed warm ups. Masti caught sight of him, and instead of the annoyed or reproving look Kuwabara expected, Masti sent him one of pity.

_That's…not good._

Kuwabara made his way around the yard to where Shaya was working with the others. As soon as he was in her line of sight, Shaya glared at him.

_And I thought Shizuru looked scary when she was mad._

"You're late," Shaya said, venom dripping from her words.

"Yes ma'am," Kuwabara said. He didn't think 'I'm sorry' would help any in this situation.

"Arashi, Chouko, halt," Shaya called.

The two had been sparring in the ring, but they stopped at Shaya's words, and left the ring. Shaya pointed with her wooden sword. "Get in there, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara walked into the ring, and Shaya followed him. "Prepare yourself," Shaya said, and that was the only warning he got before she lunged at him, swinging her sword. Kuwabara dodged, but only just. She swung again, again, and again, and each time Kuwabara only just dodged her swings.

_My dagger is useless in this fight; I need my sword!_

But that wasn't an option. What he needed to do then was get out of her reach, or get rid of her sword.

_She's too fast; no way I'm getting away from her._

Time to try and break the sword then. The next time she swung at him, Kuwabara caught the sword in his hands. There was a flair of light, and the next thing Kuwabara knew, he was laying at the edge of the ring, hands and arms stinging.

_Ow…That didn't go like planned._

Right, grabbing sword, not an option.

"Get up," Shaya was saying. "We're not done yet."

Kuwabara got to his feet; his arms might sting, but he'd felt worse. After all, Shaya wasn't actually trying to kill. She just wanted to beat him senseless so he wouldn't be late again.

There was some snickering from the sidelines, reminding Kuwabara of their audience. He didn't have to look to know that it was Kirui who was laughing at him.

_I'd like to see you go up against Shaya._

Kuwabara let his dagger flare to life, feeling the now familiar strain of keeping it from turning into a sword. It was time to try and put Shaya on the defensive.

Kuwabara rushed her, who held her ground until the last second, before whirling out of the way.

_From behind._

Kuwabara ducked and rolled to the side, Shaya's blow swishing harmlessly over his head. Kuwabara took advantage of her momentary opening and lashed out with a kick to her midriff, knocking her back a few steps. Pressing his advantage, Kuwabara lunged, but he slammed head first into a shield that had appeared from nowhere.

"Decent," Shaya said as Kuwabara gingerly touched what was going to be a nasty lump. "But not good enough to be late to my lessons."

"Yes ma'am," Kuwabara said.

Shaya let the shield on her arm disappear, and stuck her sword back in her belt. "Kirui, in the ring. You're sparring with Kuwabara now."

Kirui walked into the ring with a smirk, but Kuwabara wasn't worried, even though he'd just had to fight Shaya. He'd seen Kirui spar, and he hadn't been impressed. Kirui was good with his boomerang, but from what Kuwabara had observed he'd wager Kirui had never been in a real fist fight.

"Ready, Kuwabara," Kirui asked.

"For you, always," Kuwabara replied.

"Fight!" Shaya ordered.

Instantly, Kirui started throwing boomerangs that Kuwabara had to dodge. Kuwabara didn't bother summoning his dagger as it wouldn't do him any good in this fight. Instead, he ran full speed at Kirui, who only managed one surprised step back before Kuwabara's fist slammed into his face knocking Kirui onto his butt. He'd have a nice bruise soon, but Kuwabara had pulled the punch enough to make sure Kirui didn't lose any teeth, or even get knocked unconscious.

"That's not fair!" Kirui said, holding his jaw. "You're supposed to fight with spirit energy!"

Kuwabara blinked. "But I'd have lost if I'd relied on my spirit dagger to beat you. The point of a fight is to win, no matter what it takes."

"He's right, Kirui," Shaya said. "If the only thing you ever rely on is your spirit energy, you'll eventually end up dead. Chouko, you're fighting Kuwabara next."

Kuwabara wasn't the only one who looked startled at Shaya's words. Why was she making him fight again? And why Chouko?

"I can't fight her," Kuwabara said.

Chouko froze, and Shaya looked annoyed. "Why not?"

Kuwabara knew this wasn't going to be taken well, but he had to say it. "She's a girl, and my honor as a man won't let me fight her."

Now Chouko looked furious, and Shaya didn't look far behind her. "You fought _me_," Shaya pointed out.

"That's different," Kuwabara said.

"How exactly is it different?" Chouko asked.

It was different because Shaya was like Genkai; older, tough as nails, and she had the eyes of someone who had been to Hell and back. Chouko was only Kuwabara's age, and despite how tough she acted, she hadn't seen anything close to what Kuwabara or his friends had seen, Kuwabara was sure of that. She was the kind of person who was supposed to be protected, so she'd never have to see what Kuwabara had seen.

Only Kuwabara didn't know how to put all that into words, especially without blowing his cover. "It just is," he said.

"What, you can beat up old ladies, but not young ones?" Kirui muttered, only to get hit on the shoulder by Shaya.

"Watch who you're calling old," she snapped. She turned her glare back on Kuwabara. "You'd better be willing to fight Chouko, or you're going to end up hurt. Now, fight!"

Chouko summoned her mace, and stalked towards Kuwabara. Kuwabara circled away from her; just because he'd said he wouldn't fight her, didn't mean he was just going to stand there and let her hit him.

She swung her mace at him, and Kuwabara ducked, but then she surprised him with a low kick that swept him off his feet. Kuwabara quickly rolled out of mace range, his face bright red. What kind of woman fought in a _skirt_?

Chouko apparently didn't think about that at all as she lunged at him again and again, her attacks never slowing. Kuwabara managed to not get hit by her mace at all, but she did get him with the odd kick.

After about five minutes of this game of keep away, Chouko stopped and slammed her mace into the ground. "Would you just hit me already?" she snapped.

"I can't," Kuwabara said. "I won't break my honor code for any reason."

"This is insulting to women everywhere!" Chouko said. "You're saying we're not good enough to fight for ourselves!"

"That's not it at all," Kuwabara said, shaking his head emphatically. "I'm not saying women shouldn't know how to defend themselves or anything. I'm saying that if men would stand up and be _real_ men, then no woman would ever _need_ to fight, 'cause it's a man's job to protect the people that are weaker than him."

"So all women are weak?" Chouko asked.

Kuwabara sighed in frustration. That wasn't what he'd meant! "Just knowing or not knowing how to fight doesn't make a person strong or weak."

He would never call Keiko weak, or Shizuru, or Yukina, or Mrs. M, and none of them were warriors. But even without fighting, they were strong.

"Oh, so women are just mentally weaker than men," Chouko said.

"No, that's not…" Kuwabara trailed off with a sigh. "You know what, forget it. If you're just going to take everything I say as an insult to women, there's no point in trying to explain."

"Enough of this," Shaya snapped. "You two, out the ring."

Kuwabara gladly walked out the ring. He was tired after his fights, and the struggles of keeping his spirit energy under wraps.

He felt a gentle touch on his arm, and looked down to see Mizuko smiling up at him. "I get what you mean," Mizuko said. "What you said is the sort of thing that my dad says. It's not thinking that women are weak or something, it's being a gentleman. You should be proud."

Kuwabara smiled back at her. At least someone understood what he was trying to say.

Training ended about an hour later, when someone delivered a message to Shaya. Kuwabara didn't hear what was said, but Shaya didn't seem happy with the message. Shaya called them together.

"Here's the situation," Shaya said. "We found out about a yokai living in the city from a girl who'd been tricked into thinking it was her friend. She wouldn't give us any information, so we let her go, but had someone following her to make sure she stayed safe. We just found the tracker that was sent after her, and his memory of his whole life has been wiped clean. This yokai needs to be found and stopped, before it hurts anyone else."

_Kurama,_ Kuwabara thought, remembering what Botan had told him earlier. _How do I keep them from trying to kill Kurama?_

"What if he is her friend?" Kuwabara blurted out.

Shaya stopped talking and looked at him. "What?"

Gamely, Kuwabara plunged in. "What if the girl is telling the truth and the yokai is her friend? I mean, they must have known each other for a while if she considered him trustworthy even after finding out he's a yokai, and he's obviously never hurt her."

"Did you forget the part where it erased a man's whole life from his mind?" Arashi asked.

"Yeah, I got that," Kuwabara said. "But I also get that the yokai didn't kill our man, even though he obviously had the perfect chance to do so. Seems kind of weird for a creature that's supposed to be pure evil and want nothing more than to kill anyone he sees."

"Enough!" Shaya snapped. "There is no such thing as a yokai that isn't evil; that you can doubt that shows me you aren't ready for a mission like this yet. Chouko, Mizuko, and Kirui; the three of you will befriend this girl and find out who the yokai is. Once you find it, you're to kill it. And don't worry, Masti and I will be following behind to help if things get rough."

Kuwabara stiffened. She was sending Chouko and Mizuko after Kurama? Shaya couldn't! Kurama didn't care if his foe was male or female; in fights, Kurama was ruthless and brutal. He wouldn't kill them, he wasn't allowed, but Kurama would make sure they'd never be threats again, one way or another.

Shaya might not be sending him on this mission, but he was going to be there anyways.


	24. Chapter 24

His house felt so empty without Shiori, Caius, Barago and Sara. It was strange for Kurama to realize how used he had gotten to having a lot of people in his home. But Yusuke and Hiei's presence that morning did help make things seem a little less lonely. Yusuke's presence especially.

"How come your place is so boring?" Yusuke complained. "You don't even have a game system, just stupid books and your garden and stuff. It's like being at school, except the food's better here."

After returning home yesterday, Kurama had found out from Mokie that the Society had located his home, though they probably didn't know it belonged to him. Kurama had decided to make it easier for the Society to locate him then, by not going to school Wednesday and staying at his house. They'd surely be sending someone after it, and Kurama was tired of running from them. The Society was going to learn that messing with his home was a _bad idea._ Hearing about his plan, Yusuke and Hiei had volunteered to stay with him and back him up against the Society's inevitable attack.

"You could always leave and go to school, Yusuke," Kurama said mildly.

"And miss this fight?" Yusuke scoffed. "No way!"

"Then stop complaining, fool," Hiei said. "You're making my ears bleed."

"But I'm so bored!" Yusuke complained. "When are these Society people going to show up?"

Kurama was wondering the same thing. He'd rather get this confrontation over with as well. "They will arrive whenever they arrive. We will simply have to wait."

Yusuke sighed in frustration. "Do you at least have any good movies?"

"Mother picks all our movies out," Kurama replied.

"In other words no," Yusuke said. "Dang it all, Society of Light people. Hurry up and attack us!"

* * *

When Ashja got home from school that day, he glanced over at the Minamino house as had become his habit. When he did, he caught sight of a figure in one of the windows that he hadn't expected to see; his red-eyed hero that had saved his life the day before.

"What's he doing at Minamino's place?" Ashja asked allowed. Then he realized it was a silly question; obviously all the nonhumans in the city would need to be connected with each other. It only made sense that they'd be friends or at least acquaintances. Still, Ashja couldn't believe his luck.

Without even bothering to go in his house to drop off his school bag, Ashja ran over next door and rang the doorbell. Moments later Minamino opened the door, looking mildly surprised to see him. "Ashja? What are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to the red-eyed man?" Ashja asked, too excited to try and come up with a clever excuse.

Minamino's eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline. "Hiei?"

So that was his name. Ashja liked it; it seemed manly and strong, just like Ashja's hero.

Minamino was taking too long to let Ashja in, so Ashja ducked under his arm and ran in the house, an action that would have him grounded for weeks if his mother knew about it. He ended up in the living room, where he found Hiei sitting on the windowsill, and some other teenager sprawled out on the couch.

"Kurama, who's the kid?" the teenager asked, but Ashja ignored him and rushed over to Hiei, who looked surprised and then scowled fiercely.

"What are you doing here?" Hiei snapped.

Ashja grinned, totally unaffected by Hiei's temper. "I live next door and I saw you through the window, so I wanted to come by and thank you again for saving my life yesterday."

"You saved Ashja's life, Hiei?" Minamino, who was apparently also called Kurama, asked. Ashja decided to call him Kurama from now on; it sounded cooler than Shuichi or Minamino. "You didn't mention that part."

Hiei glared at the redhead. "It wasn't important."

"What happened?" the other teenager asked with a friendly grin.

Ashja was only too happy for a chance to talk about the feats of his hero. "I went to the park yesterday morning, and I was walking along and all the sudden _woosh,_ I'm flying through air and there's this giant hole in the ground where I was standing!" Ashja animatedly told Kurama and the other teen about what had happened the day before, though he left out the part about Hiei throwing him in the bushes.

"Well, well," drawled the teenager. "Looks like you're a regular hero, Hiei!"

"Shut up, Yusuke," Hiei snapped.

"I got some really cool pictures," Ashja added. "Most of them didn't turn out, but some did, and they're epic! Way better than any of the pictures I got of this place, except maybe that night that the house was attacked and all the plants went crazy…" Ashja stopped talking when he saw the cold look on Kurama's face. Maybe he shouldn't have said that part.

"What pictures?" Kurama asked.

Ashja cringed. There was no good way out of this one. "Erm, well," Ashja said. "I took pictures that night your house was attacked and blown up, and then the next day it was fixed and no one else could remember what had happened, so I started spying, 'cause I thought you might be wizards or something, but I kinda figured out you weren't human, though I don't know what you really are…" Ashja shuffled his feet nervously. "I won't tell anyone."

Kurama sighed. "That explains why you were following me."

Ashja perked up when he realized that Kurama wasn't mad, simply exasperated.

"Yeah, that's why," Ashja said. "So, what are you exactly?"

"I'm afraid I still can't talk about this with you," Kurama said. "Now, you need to go home."

"If you don't tell me I'm just going to keep following you," Ashja pointed out.

"Don't," Kurama said shortly. "Now, you really do need to leave."

Ashja glared. He was going to out stubborn this guy if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Maya was on edge by the time school ended. Shuichi hadn't come to school that day, and after what had happened the day before she was worried about him.

_I hope nothing bad happened to him._

She decided to go by his house on her way home; if he was there, she could make sure he was okay before she went on her way, if he wasn't she'd leave things alone and just pray he was okay. She debated asking Kaito to come with her, but decided against it, unsure if he knew about Shuichi's double life. He probably didn't, and he should learn about it from Shuichi, not Maya.

_Actually, I should probably have a talk with Shuichi about that. Knowing him, it won't ever occur to him that he should tell Kaito about this, and he most certainly should._

Decided on her course of action, Maya set out for Shuichi's house. She wasn't quite halfway there when suddenly some guy was walking beside her. _Where did he come from?_

He smiled at her, showing off perfect white teeth. "Hey there. The name's Kirui. What's yours?"

Maya eyed him uncertainly. He was good looking, with short brown hair, brown eyes, and a nice smile, but she got a bad vibe off of him. She didn't trust him for some reason. "Maya," she said shortly, too polite not to respond at all.

"This might be a bit forward, but when I saw you I just had to come tell you that you are the most beautiful girl I've seen all week," he said.

Maya frowned at him. "You're right, that is a bit forward." _And a bad compliment; seriously, I'm the most beautiful girl you've seen all week? That means you've seen plenty of other girls you think are more beautiful._

Kirui didn't falter, something Maya might have admired if she hadn't wanted him to go away. "Then maybe I could take you out so we can get to know each other. Then it wouldn't be forward."

"Sorry, I'm busy," Maya said. "I'm going to a friend's house."

"I could walk with you," he said.

Maya was getting tired of his persistence. "Look, I'm flattered, but I'm not interested. Would you please just leave me alone?"

Kirui frowned for the first time, but only for a second before his smile returned, looking a little forced this time. "Look, Maya, I'm trying to be polite."

"If you were polite you'd go away when I asked," Maya interrupted.

Before Kirui could respond, a hand landed on his shoulder. Maya followed the hand to see a girl who looked a little older than Maya, dressed in a dark red blouse with a lacy black skirt and knee high black leather boots. Her hair had originally been black, but was now covered in streaks of green, blue, pink and red. There was another girl standing just behind her, a marked contrast in appearance. Her long black hair was pulled up in pigtails, and she wore a really cute yellow sundress with white leggings, and Maya kind of wanted to know where she'd bought them.

"Kirui, she said to leave her alone," the girl with multi-colored hair said.

Kirui glared and knocked her hand off of his shoulder. "This has nothing to do with you two. Leave us alone."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Do not make me hurt you, Kirui."

"Yeah," said the other girl. "You know we won't stand by and let you bug people."

Kirui glowered at them and said, "Fine, have it your way." He stalked off, high in bad temper.

"Thanks for that," Maya said.

"No problem," the first girl said. "That idiot goes to our school, and we catch him messing with girls all the time. My name's Chouko, by the way."

"And I'm Mizuko," the other girl said.

Maya smiled at them. "I'm Maya."

"We'd better stick with you until you get wherever you're going," Mizuko said. "If we leave you alone, Kirui is bound to come back."

Maya's eyes widened as she started walking again. "Seriously? He's that persistent?"

"He is," Chouko confirmed. "But he isn't likely to bother you so long as we're around."

Maya smiled gratefully. "Thank you very much for your assistance then! We're not far from my friend's house now. By the way, Mizuko, I really like your dress. Where'd you get it?"

Talking blissfully about fashion, the three girls continued on towards Shuichi's house.

* * *

Masti patted Kirui's shoulder when he joined him and Shaya tailing the girls some way back. "Nice set up for the girls," Masti said.

Shaya managed not to roll her eyes, knowing that Kirui had believed he could just flirt with the girl until she told him what he wanted to know. Well, let this be a lesson in humility for him then. "Remember, when we find the yokai, your job is to get Maya out of there so she stays safe," Shaya reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it," Kirui said, and Shaya made a mental note to make him do extra work at the next practice for the tone of voice.

She glanced over her shoulder, suddenly feeling, and not for the first time one this mission, that they were being watched. "Masti, is someone following us?" Shaya asked, not being able to notice anyone with her eyes.

Masti frowned for a moment, and then looked surprised. "Kuwabara's here; I can feel his spirit energy."

Shaya nearly swore. She should have realized after his little speech yesterday that he'd never just let Chouko and Mizuko go off on a mission like this. Or was he here for another reason? To see if the yokai they were searching for was maybe a 'good' yokai?

_There's no such thing._

There couldn't be such a thing. Shaya refused to believe it. She couldn't believe it, or she'd start spending sleepless nights wondering if any of the yokai she'd killed in her life were actually innocent people just trying to live. There were quite a few she knew for sure that had been evil; she'd saved the life of more than one human from yokai who'd been trying to harm them. But there'd been some yokai whom Shaya didn't have any proof of wrongdoing for. They'd just been there, and they'd been yokai, which meant they must be evil. If they weren't evil…If they weren't, that made Shaya a murderer, and she didn't know if she could handle that.

* * *

Tailing Masti and Shaya was harder than Kuwabara had expected. He was pretty sure Shaya knew someone was following them, since she kept looking over her shoulder.

_Hopefully they won't realize it's me._

Kuwabara wasn't entirely sure what excuse he could use if they noticed him, and he didn't want to jeopardize his position as a spy within their ranks. But if they actually attacked Kurama, Kuwabara didn't think he'd be able to stand aside and, most frightening, he wasn't sure whose side he'd be on. He certainly wasn't going to let the Society kill Kurama, but he had no intentions of letting Kurama hurt them either.

_Guess I'm sort of on my own side now._

* * *

They were in front of Shuichi's house when Chouko's phone rang. She flipped it open and said, "Mizuko, we've got to go."

"We do?" Mizuko asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, our friends are waiting for us," Chouko said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Maya said. "I didn't mean to bother you if you had something else going on."

Chouko shrugged. "It's not a big deal; they'll understand."

"Well, this is my friend's house anyway," Maya said, "so I'm okay now. Thanks again for walking with me!"

"No problem," Mizuko said with a smile. "It was nice meeting you!"

Shaya felt shaky as Chouko and Mizuko joined them. That had been too close. _Of course her friend lives in the nest. Why wouldn't he?_

"Why'd you call off the mission?" Chouko demanded.

"That's a yokai nest," Shaya said. "There are several yokai in there; it's too risky."

"We could take them," Kirui said.

"Maybe," Shaya said, "but not without risking all the humans around. We can't engage them here. You three are officially off this mission. Go now."

None of the teenagers seemed happy with her words. "But what are you going to do?" Mizuko asked.

"That's none of your business," Shaya said. "Now get moving."

They left then, though reluctantly. "Are we waiting for the two humans to come out?" Masti asked.

"Of course," Shaya said. After a moment she asked, "Did Kuwabara leave with the others?"

"No," Masti said quietly. "He's still here, watching us."

Which meant he hadn't come because he was worried about Chouko and Mizuko. Or at least, that wasn't his only reason for coming. He was also there to see if the yokai was actually evil, or whether it deserved to be saved.

_We may have to remove him from the Society._

Shaya hated the thought; she wanted Kuwabara as her student. She'd never seen anyone with so much potential. She was already convinced that with the proper training Kuwabara would be the most powerful member of the Society. But they couldn't afford to have a recruit who wasn't entirely convinced of their cause. It would destroy him, and only hurt the Society in the long run.

_We'll have to talk about it with my Lady._

But that was a matter for another time.

* * *

Kurama was hauling Ashja to the front door of his house when he felt it, a wave of purifying spirit energy that sent painful tingles running over his skin. Ashja stopped struggling when Kurama froze and asked, "What's wrong?"

The spirit energy, and the pain disappeared, and Kurama was able to breathe easily again. Kurama pushed Ashja back towards the living room. "Yusuke, take Ashja out the back way. I think the Society is here."

Yusuke grabbed the protesting boy as a knock sounded on the front door. Schooling his face into cool disinterest, Kurama opened the door and was then startled to see Maya standing on the his doorstep.

"Hey, Shuichi. What's he doing with that kid?" Maya asked, looking over Kurama's shoulder. Ashja was putting up quite a struggle.

"I'm not a kid!" Ashja snapped, yanking hard on a lock of Yusuke's hair.

"Ow, you little brat! Hiei, would you control him?" Yusuke demanded, irritated, but trying to not actually hurt Ashja.

"He's not my problem," Hiei said, not budging from his spot.

Kurama sighed. "You may as well come in for a moment."

Maya stepped inside and said, "When you didn't show up to school today, I was worried about you."

"I'm fine," Kurama said, ignoring Yusuke and Ashja's squabble in the background. "Who was with you?"

Maya looked surprised. "Oh, you noticed that? It was these two girls who helped me out today." She quickly told him what had happened, and Kurama frowned in thought.

It was easy enough for Kurama to figure out that the three teenagers Maya had met must work for the Society, and the purifying energy he'd felt must come from one of the girls. They'd probably been following her in order to locate him, which meant that they previously hadn't connected him with his home, but they now knew for sure where he lived. But why had they left once they'd found him?

Kurama decided they'd probably noticed Yusuke and Hiei's energy signatures in the house and decided that there was too much risk of harming others by engaging them here, which meant they were probably safe for the rest of the day at least.

"Leave him alone, Yusuke," Kurama said. "I don't think the Society is going to attack today after all."

Yusuke unceremoniously dropped Ashja then. "Seriously? They're not coming?"

"No," Kurama said. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the ones that came with Maya were members of the Society, but they've left now."

Maya paled. "You mean I brought some of those people that want to hurt you here? I'm so sorry; I had no idea!"

"I'm not blaming you, Maya," Kurama said. "They already knew yokai lived in my house, they just didn't know it was your friend."

"So you're all yokai?" Ashja asked, crowding closer. "That's so cool!"

Kurama briefly wondered whether or not he should erase Ashja's memories of all this, but decided against it. If Koenma's mind wipe hadn't stuck, then his wasn't likely to either. There seemed little point then in trying to make Ashja forget things, but it wouldn't do for the boy to know too much either. Still, if Kurama refused to tell him anything Ashja had already proven he was willing to sneak around and try and find things out for himself, which could put him in grave danger.

Kurama crouched down so he was on eye level with Ashja. "Yes, Ashja, we are yokai. However, this must remain a secret, as there are people out there who wish us harm."

"Like those twins that tried to kill Hiei yesterday," Ashja said.

"Exactly," Kurama said. "And if they found out you knew about us, they may try to use you in order to hurt us."

Ashja frowned, apparently not having considered that.

"So in order for you to stay safe, you need to pretend you don't know our secret," Kurama said, "and you must stop following me; the places I go aren't always safe."

Ashja sighed. "I guess I can do that. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you guys 'cause of me. I should probably go home now, huh?"

"You should," Kurama said. Then he turned his attention to Maya. "You should go home too; and don't worry about me, Maya. I'll be fine. I'll let you know when this is all over. Until then, for your own safety, you should stay away."

Maya nodded, still looking guilty about having led members of the Society to his door. "Okay."

Kurama walked them out and headed back to the living room. "So, Kurama," said Yusuke. "Who's the chick, and how come she knows about us?"

Kurama sighed. It had been too much to hope that Yusuke would just let this go.

* * *

It was with very thoughtful and worried hearts that Shaya and Masti reported to the Lady later that day. "Your students told us you cancelled the mission," the Lady said, reproach and question in that one statement.

"We had no choice," Shaya said. "Maya led us to the nest, and there were three yokai in there. We might have been able to defeat them together, but the casualties would have been too great in a neighborhood. If we want to engage them, we will have to lure them out of the city somehow."

The Lady frowned through her veils. "We will have to think on this matter. Did anything else of interest happen?"

"Maya and another human entered the nest while we were there," Shaya said. "But they left unharmed."

"Strange," Navori said, frowning. "We must consider the option that these two are somehow serving the yokai then."

Shaya didn't think so, not after observing Maya and the boy. But such things had happened in the past, their own histories proved that. It wasn't impossible, but it seemed…wrong. Especially after the way Maya had claimed the yokai as her friend.

"You have doubts, Shaya?" the Lady asked. It bugged Shaya, the way she could do that.

"I don't think they serve the yokai," Shaya said. "Maya doesn't strike me as the kind of person to serve anyone, and the other was just a kid."

"They could be unknowingly in the yokai's power," Navori said. "Which is I think most likely, considering the girl's insistence that the yokai is her friend."

Shaya almost repeated Kuwabara's question; what if she was right? What if the yokai was her friend? He'd had plenty of chances to hurt her, and others. As far as Shaya could see, he was just living. Just making his way, like everyone else. Even when he'd been attacked by one of their people, the yokai hadn't killed him; he'd hurt him sure, but the agent would have done worse than that if he'd caught the yokai.

_What if Kuwabara's right?_

"I suppose it's possible," Shaya said, though whether she was replying to Navori or her own thoughts, Shaya wasn't sure.

"Go now," the Lady said. "We shall have to gather the council together later to decide what we shall do about the yokai problem."

They left then, and once they were back in their own apartment, Masti said, "You didn't mention removing Kuwabara from our training."

So his thoughts had gone in the same direction hers had when they'd realized Kuwabara was following them. "It didn't seem like the right time," Shaya said. "Besides, maybe Kuwabara's thinking will change. He'd be an unbelievable asset to our cause."

Masti studied her. "You think he's right?"

Shaya closed her eyes, the faces of all the yokai she'd ever killed running through her head, mixed in with the image of her murdered child. "I don't know."

* * *

Sara sat out on the porch of Genkai's temple. The building seemed crowded now with all the people living there, and it made Genkai grumpy.

It worried Sara that Kurama had felt like it was necessary to send Shiori here to keep her safe. It made the danger of the Society seem that much greater, and Sara was afraid that Kurama or the others would end up hurt.

_Just because I broke up with you doesn't mean I don't care about you, Kurama. Stay safe, please._

Her ear twitched at the sound of footsteps approaching. Sara didn't have to look up to know it was Barago. He sat down on the porch beside her. "Are you okay, Sara?"

"I'm worried," Sara said.

"About Kurama?" Barago asked. "Don't be. He's difficult to kill, believe me."

Sara smiled a little bit, but she was still worried.

"Sara," Barago said slowly. "I wanted to ask you about moving to Makai and living with the clan. I know you said before you didn't want to, but now…"

Yes, now. Now that she'd quit school, now that she'd broken up with Kurama, now that she'd effectively severed all the ties she had. There was nothing left to hold her here.

But in Makai she had family. She had grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins.

Even so there was a part of her that didn't want to leave.

"I still care about Kurama, a lot," Sara said. "I don't want to leave and never see him again."

"Who said you'd never be able to see him again?" Barago asked. "Going to Makai isn't a one way trip. Once you've had some training you can always come back here."

Sara blinked with surprise. "I can?"

Barago smiled. "Of course you can."

"But I thought…I mean, Grandmother and Grandfather didn't want Mom to come here," Sara said uncertainly.

"She was little more than a child," Barago said. "They would've been okay with it if she'd been older, and there is no reason for you not to visit once you've had some training."

Sara felt a little foolish then for thinking that if she went to Makai she'd never be able to come back to the human world. But now she knew she could return. "Yes, Uncle Barago. I'd like to go back to the clan."

Barago hugged her. "I'm glad. We'll leave as soon as this mess with the Society is over and it's safe to travel through the portal again."

* * *

Be very thankful to Crazy for this update! Read and enjoy this very very late chapter.


	25. Chapter 25

Shaya and Masti were furious; the Council had met late Wednesday night and come up with a plan to lure the yokai out of town, and the two were staunchly against it.

Oh, the plan would _work_ of that they agreed, but it took dangerous and unnecessary risks. The Council had decided the best thing to do would be to kidnap Maya and take her out of town, sending a threat to the yokai about what would happen to her if they didn't come.

"It will be an insult to the yokai's pride to have one of his servants taken from him," Navori had said. "He will certainly come for her, and that's when we'll spring our trap."

Shaya and Masti had both protested that this put Maya at an unnecessary and unacceptable risk, but they had been overruled since the Society wouldn't actually have any intentions of harming her, and their combined power should be more than enough to keep her safe.

Everything in Shaya said that this was wrong. Maya had been invited to join their cause and refused. She shouldn't be dragged into this fight, not like this. Shaya couldn't believe that the Lady had actually agreed with Navori's plan.

_This is wrong. It's wrong!_

Why could no one else see that?

To make matters worse, they wanted her students involved in the trap. Shaya hadn't even bothered to protest that, though she'd badly wanted to. She'd known they would only overrule her opinion again.

"We may as well get this over with," Masti said.

"I know," Shaya said. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

* * *

Kuwabara felt nervous when he arrived at the Society's temple that morning. He didn't think he'd been noticed following Shaya and Masti the day before, and they'd called off the mission for some reason that Kuwabara didn't yet know. That just seemed like too much good luck for one day; something bad was bound to happen.

When he made it to the training grounds, everyone was there except Shaya and Masti. Isamu barreled into Kuwabara. "Hey, Kuwabara!" the boy said, grinning up at him. Because of his age, Isamu didn't attend every training session with the rest of the class, so it had been a few days since Kuwabara had seen him.

Kuwabara smiled at him. "Hey, Isamu. How's it going?"

"Great," Isamu said with a grin. "I'm really glad it's one of my training days today."

"Yeah, me too," Kuwabara said. "It's always fun when you're here."

Isamu beamed at the words, and Kuwabara couldn't help but reflect for a moment how easy it was to make the kid happy.

Shaya and Masti both arrived then; Kuwabara was surprised to see Masti there. He would normally be with the other class, not with them.

Masti called Isamu over. "Hey, Isamu, Shaya and I both need to talk to the class, so do you think you can help my class through their warm ups until I get there?"

Isamu practically glowed at being given permission to order around people older than himself. "Sure thing!" he said and dashed off.

"Okay, everyone, listen up," Shaya said. "The Council has come up with a new plan for attacking the yokai. In order to get it out of the city, we're going to kidnap Maya and hold her hostage. The yokai should come for her, and then we're going to ambush it."

"Kidnap Maya?" Mizuko said, shocked. "But she could get hurt if we did something like that!"

"Yeah," Chouko said, crossing her arms. "I thought the Society of Light was supposed to protect humans; not use them as bait!"

"It's not like she'll be in any real danger," Kirui said. "We'd never actually hurt her."

"Certainly not," Masti said. "But she will be in danger, make no mistake about that. _Anyone_ near this battle is going to be in danger; that's why we have to take it outside the city."

"I would think we could find another way to do that, without endangering this girl," Arashi said darkly, showing his disapproval for the plan as well.

"Look, we don't like this any more than you do," Shaya said. "But this is the plan the Council has decided on, and we're going to need fighters. If you think you can handle it, good, but if you can't let us know now."

"Of course I can handle it!" Kirui said. "This is why I joined the Society!"

"I'll go," Kuwabara said, the first time he'd spoken. Of course he had to go, if only to try and end this madness somehow.

Everyone seemed surprised at this statement. "What, not afraid the yokai is actually a good person this time?" Kirui asked.

Kuwabara glared at Kirui; he knew that Kurama was a good person, and this whole fight was utterly pointless. But he couldn't say any of that or he'd blow his cover and get kicked out for sure, losing whatever influence he might have with the Society. Instead, Kuwabara said, "Someone has to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"I'll go as well," Arashi said, cutting in on Kuwabara and Kirui's bickering.

"Me too," Chouko said, looking grumpy. Well, grumpier than she normally did.

Everyone looked to Mizuko then. "This is wrong," she said. "Maya's going to be so scared…And even if she doesn't get hurt, she's still going to have to watch while we try and kill someone she thinks of as a good friend…It's _wrong._" She glared at the all, tears filling her eyes. "I'll go; but I'm only going to keep Maya safe. And when this fight is over, I'm _quitting._ Anyone who could do something like this to that poor girl is _horrible_!"

Shaya didn't flinch at the words, but Masti did. Shaya had said they didn't like the plan either; Kuwabara wondered if they were having thoughts that were similar to Mizuko's.

"If that's what you think, then quitting will be for the best," Shaya said. "Make sure you have everything you're going to need; we're leaving now."

"Now?" Kuwabara asked. If they left now, there was no chance Kuwabara would be able to warn Kurama about it; if he had a chance to warn Kurama, he might be able to keep Maya safe and avoid the whole situation.

"Did I stutter?" Shaya snapped.

"No, ma'am," Kuwabara replied. _I just kind of wish you had._

* * *

It was like a nightmare; a hand covering Maya's mouth so she couldn't scream, strong arms dragging her off the sidewalk into an alleyway and another set of hands blindfolding and gagging her. She tried to struggle, but they tied her up and she was tossed over someone's shoulder.

Whoever had kidnapped Maya started moving, but they didn't talk, so Maya had no clues as to who it was or why they had taken her. She had to fight back memories of the night she'd been kidnapped by that yokai that had planned to eat her. This wasn't the same; it _wasn't_. Her kidnappers were human this time, she was sure of that; but who were they, and why her?

Suddenly it hit her, the only group of people that might have a reason for kidnapping her. The Society of Light.

_Is this some of their people? Are they kidnapping me to lure Shuichi into a trap?_

If so, that just wasn't fair fighting. But what else could she expect from a group bent of exterminating an entire species? Anger built up at the thought, pushing away her fear.

After what seemed like an eternity they arrived at their destination and Maya was set down and pushed into a sitting position. Someone removed her blindfold and gag and Maya blinked at the sudden streams of sunlight. She wasn't all that surprised to see Kirui, Chouko, and Mizuko standing around, but there were also a bunch of people she didn't recognize. They had brought her out to some empty field outside the city, which explained why it had taken so long to arrive.

Maya took a breath to yell at them, but a woman who looked to be around thirty or so spoke up first. "We're not going to harm you," she said. "We don't even want anything from you; you're just bait to lure the yokai here. Once this is all over, you'll be free to go home."

Maya glared at her. "His name is Shuichi. He's the highest ranking student in our class. He has a mother; his father died when he was a child. He's an excellent gardener. He _saved my life_ in middle school when a _real_ monster was going to eat me. If you're going to murder someone, the least you can do is acknowledge they're a person!"

Kirui snorted. "No, they're not. Yokai are nothing but monsters."

"How would you know?" Maya snapped. "Have you ever even met one?"

Kirui winced a little but didn't say anything. The woman who'd spoken to her first spoke again. "I have. I've met plenty. The very first one I met murdered and ate my child. Don't tell me they aren't monsters!"

Maya stared at her, wide eyed. Oh. Oh, that was _awful._ Maya couldn't even imagine how awful it would feel to have something like that happen. After something like that, Maya could understand why this woman would hate yokai.

"I'm sorry," Maya said. "But it doesn't change this situation. Shuichi didn't do that; he'd never do something like that. Killing Shuichi is still murder."

The woman only looked at her for a moment, and then turned on her heel. "Mizuko, Kuwabara, guard her. Everyone else, keep on the lookout. The yokai should have gotten our message by now. It could be here any moment."

Mizuko and a tall guy with orange hair moved over to Maya while everyone else spread out. After a moment of silence Mizuko blurted out, "I'm sorry, Maya."

Maya looked up at her, startled by her sudden words. Mizuko knelt down so they were on eye level with each other. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I didn't want them to do this, but they wouldn't listen to me…I just came to make sure you stay safe. I think you're right, and after this I don't want to be a part of the Society anymore."

Maya was touched by what she could tell was a very sincere confession on Mizuko's part. And if she was really against all of this, then maybe she could help somehow. Maya lowered her voice and asked, "Is there some way you could get a warning to Shuichi?"

The guy, Kuwabara, snorted, and Maya jumped a little, having forgotten he was there. "He doesn't need a warning," Kuwabara said. "Anyone with half a brain could figure out this is a trap."

"But-" Maya started, and Kuwabara looked down at her, meeting her gaze. Something in his gaze made the words die in her throat; his brown eyes held such confidence, such _knowing_.

"You should have more faith in your friend," Kuwabara said firmly. "Kurama knows what he's walking into, and he's risking it all for you."

"How'd you know his nickname is Kurama?" Maya asked.

Kuwabara's eyes widened. "Oh, um, well, you called him that, didn't you?"

"No," Maya said frowning. "I called him Shuichi." Her eyes widened. "Do you _know_ him?"

Mizuko looked as floored as Maya felt at the idea. "Kuwabara?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Kuwabara winced and glanced at the others, who weren't near enough to overhear the conversation. "Look," Kuwabara said in a whisper. "I can't explain right now, but yeah, I know Kurama."

Mizuko opened her mouth to ask another question, but Kuwabara shook his head. "Later," he insisted.

The girls didn't say anything, but Maya's mind was whirling with this newest revelation. Kuwabara and Shuichi knew each other; did that mean they were friends? But if they were friends, then why would Kuwabara join a group dedicated to wiping out yokai?

Unless…Was Kuwabara a spy?

_Then maybe everything will be okay. If Kuwabara has been spying for Shuichi, then he should have all kinds of info on the Society, right? So it'll all be okay._

Maya really hoped that was true.

"Hey," she said, "Do you think you could untie me? I mean, it's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Kuwabara said. He crouched down and untied the ropes that had bound her arms to her sides.

"Thanks," Maya said, but Kuwabara wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She followed his gaze to see where he was looking, and saw Shuichi walking across the field towards the Society people.

* * *

Shaya held firm as the teenager approached. So this was the yokai they'd been tracking down for so long. He didn't look either particularly dangerous or monstrous.

He stopped walking about twenty feet away. "You're not quite the Society of Light that I'd heard stories of," he said. "I thought you weren't supposed to drag defenseless humans into these fights."

Shaya ignored the jab, which stung all the more because he was right, they should never have involved Maya, but the Council had decided and their word was final. Besides, she didn't banter with yokai. She simply exterminated them.

"Go!" she ordered.

Instantly Kirui's boomerangs flew through the air towards the yokai, but he was no longer there. The yokai had dodged them with ease and pulled out a rose that suddenly became a spiky whip.

Shaya summoned her shield, drew her wooden sword and charged the yokai. If she could get in close enough, his whip would be useless.

_He's fast,_ she thought. _Really, really fast._

And annoyingly acrobatic. Whenever she, Chouko, Arashi, and Masti tried to get him cornered he was able to do some flips out of the circle. Kirui kept his distance and threw his boomerangs, but he couldn't manage to land a hit. The fight was going nowhere fast.

_I wish Mizuko would shoot him,_ Shaya thought. _She's a better aim the Kirui is._

But Mizuko couldn't be counted on in this fight, except to keep Maya safe.

"Look out!"

Warned both by Mizuko's shout and the sudden spike of energy behind her, Shaya whirled just barely in time to use her shield to block the barrage of energy blasts that had headed her way. Masti and Arashi managed to dodge, but Chouko was hit and knocked to the ground. She was still alive, but Shaya couldn't tell how badly she'd been hurt by the blast.

At the other end of the blast stood another teenager, holding out one of his hands in the classic finger gun position. Near him was another yokai, short but dangerous looking, holding a sword in his hand.

_Crap. This just got bad. We can barely handle this yokai; how are we supposed to fight more?_

Maybe if the class had advanced farther in their training they could do it, but as they were they'd never win this fight, not now. They needed to retreat.

"Kurama, what were you thinking?" the one who'd shot at them demanded. "How could you come to this fight without us?"

"I was handling it, Yusuke," the first yokai said. He switched his gaze to Shaya. "Return Maya, and we'll let you go. You know you can't win this fight."

Shaya didn't know how to respond. He was right, they couldn't win, and they weren't likely to get away either with Maya and an injured Chouko in tow. But to live on the mercy of a yokai, a creature that wasn't supposed to understand what mercy meant…The thought galled her.

_What's more important? Keeping my students alive or a suicidal effort to please the Council?_

It was no contest.

"Let her go," Shaya ordered Mizuko and Kuwabara, but she didn't dare take her eyes off of the yokai to see if the two obeyed.

"Are you crazy?" Kirui said.

"Shut up," Shaya snapped. She was not about to let the little idiot get them all killed.

A moment later Maya walked quickly by to the yokai's side. They left, the three yokai keeping a wary eye on the Society members to make sure none of them attacked. When they were gone, Kirui exploded.

"How could you just let them go like that?" he demanded.

Shaya ignored him in favor of rushing to Chouko along with Masti to make sure she was okay. "She's unconscious, but I don't think she's too badly hurt," Masti said. "Still, we should get her back to our healers."

"Hey, I'm talking to you," Kirui said, grabbing Shaya's shoulder.

Shaya had had about enough of him. She whirled around and hit him in the stomach, hard enough to wind him and double him over.

"Now you listen to me, and you listen good," Shaya said. "You're _not_ in charge here. If Masti or I give someone an order, you don't argue with us, you just shut up and do what we say. And just for the record, we didn't let them go. _They_ let _us_ go. I'm not sure we could've won the fight against that first yokai; once the others showed up and wounded Chouko, we definitely couldn't win. So I decided keeping all of you alive was more important that trying to kill some yokai who just wants to be left alone!"

Kirui glared at her. "You say that like you don't think it deserves to die."

Shaya grit her teeth. "What I'm saying is I think it's more important to keep all of you alive. Now let's go."

They started back to the temple in silence, avoiding main roads since Chouko was still knocked out and they didn't need the questions or attention. As they went, Shaya thought about Kirui's words. Did she think that the yokai deserved to die?

_I don't know._

But according to the Society of Light, every yokai deserved to just by virtue of being a yokai. Did Shaya agree with that still?

_I don't know._

She couldn't believe that she wasn't sure anymore of her mission. But this time had thrown everything she'd thought she'd known into doubt. What if all yokai weren't evil? What if some of them were good? What if some of the yokai she'd killed in the past hadn't needed to die?

_I can't do this anymore. I can't stay with the Society._

It hurt her to admit that. But Shaya wasn't sure that she believed in their mission anymore, and she couldn't stay with a group that would require her to kill if she wasn't one hundred percent behind them. That way led to madness.

Chouko woke up then. "What happened?" she asked.

"You got hit by an energy blast," Masti said. "Do you think you can stand?"

Chouko nodded and Masti set her down on her feet, but her legs wobbled and she had to hold on to him to keep from falling. "Did we win?" she asked.

"No," Shaya said. "They let us go."

Chouko blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Some other yokai showed up," Mizuko said. "They said they'd let us go if we released Maya, so we did."

Chouko fell silent then, and the group didn't talk anymore until they made it back to the temple and found Navoi waiting for them. "Well?" he asked.

Shaya scowled. "We lost."

"You lost?" Navori asked incredulously. "How could you lose? It was only one yokai."

"It was three yokai," Shaya snapped. "Three powerful yokai, and Masti and I were the only fully trained people there fighting them!"

"Surely you could have still done something," Navori said.

"Not without someone dying," Shaya responded.

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made," Navori started, and Shaya saw red.

She grabbed his shirt front and dragged him down so he was on eye level with her. "My students are _not expendable_! Don't you ever imply that again!" She shoved him back. "This isn't what I signed on for," Shaya said. "I'm done with the Society."

Navori straightened his shirt. "Do the rest of you feel that way too?"

"I do," Masti said.

"Definitely," Mizuko replied.

Chouko and Arashi both nodded grimly. Kuwabara snorted. "Choosing between you and the yokai? I'd take the yokai."

Kirui shook his head. "You're all crazy. Navori's right; sometimes sacrifices for the greater good have to be made."

Navori nodded. "He's right. That's why I must do this now."

Shaya went for her sword, but she wasn't fast enough. A bright light surrounded them, blocking out everything else.

* * *

Kuwabara blinked the spots out of his eyes. Looking around he saw all of them, except Kirui, were in what appeared to be a featureless white void. "What just happened?" he asked.

"That bastard," Shaya said. "He's trapped us!"

"In what?" Arashi asked.

"Navori's specialty is barriers," Masti said grimly. "The barriers he creates are unbreakable. This is a special sort of barrier that he makes; it puts us in a sort of pocket dimension, and no one outside of it will even know we're here. We're trapped here until Navori decides to let us out or dies."

Mizuko paled. "So we're going to starve here?"

"No," Shaya said. "Time doesn't really pass like that in this place, according to Navori. There's just no telling when we'll come out, especially if we have to wait for Navori to die before we can escape."

Everyone fell silent then, reflecting on the grim implications of Shaya's words. Kuwabara studied his hands. If this place was a pocket dimension, he could get them out. He'd done that sort of thing before with his Dimension Sword, though he couldn't reliably summon it. But if he used it, he'd have to reveal the truth to everyone, and how would they take it?

Well, it didn't really matter at this point, when the options were tell the truth or be stuck in a pocket dimension for who knew how many years.

"I can get us out," Kuwabara said.

"No one can get us out," Shaya said.

"But I've got a sword that can cut through dimensions," Kuwabara said.

They all stared at him. "You've got _what?" _Shaya demanded.

Kuwabara winced. "Um, yeah. It's a long story. Short version? I actually work for Spirit World. Um, you do know who that is right?"

"The people that take care of the souls of the dead," Masti supplied. "You work for them?"

"Yeah, sort of unofficially," Kuwabara said. "They don't just take care of the dead though. They also try and keep things balanced between the human world and Makai. So working with them I've met a lot of yokai, and not all of them are evil." He shrugged. "They're kind of like humans, actually. I mean, we've got our own serial killers, rapists, and other psychopaths. So do they. But there are plenty of decent yokai too, just like there are plenty of decent humans. Only, until recently there was a barrier between us and Makai to keep us separate, so only the criminal yokai were willing to break the law and come through, so that's why most humans only met evil yokai."

"What happened to the barrier?" Chouko asked.

"It disappeared somehow," Shaya said. "But that isn't the point." She stopped talking and stared hard at Kuwabara. He could feel his face flush under her gaze. "How did the barrier disappear?"

"Remember how I have a sword that can cut through dimensions?" Kuwabara said rubbing the back of his head.

Shaya's jaw dropped. "You…_You_ destroyed the barrier?"

"Um…Yes?" Kuwabara said. "It's not that big a deal."

"Not a big deal?" said Masti, looking as floored as Shaya. "Kuwabara, do me a favor. Think about the most powerful person you've ever met, human or yokai. Think about how strong that person is, and then realize this; that person wouldn't have been able to destroy the barrier, ever. Trick it maybe, but never destroy it."

_Oh._

Kuwabara suddenly felt a little dizzy. No one had ever explained it to him like that before.

"Okay, so Kuwabara's a lot stronger than we thought," Chouko said. "But why did you join the Society if you worked for Spirit World?"

Kuwabara shook off the revelation that Masti had given him; he'd think about that later. "I joined because Spirit World wanted the Society stopped. I was supposed to spy and tell Spirit World what your plans were so we could try to keep innocent yokai safe."

"Like the one we fought today?" Mizuko guessed.

"Actually," Kuwabara said, "that was Kurama. He works for Spirit World too. So does Yusuke, that's the guy who shot at us, and Hiei, the one with the sword."

"Yokai are working for Spirit World?" Arashi asked.

"Yeah," Kuwabara said, "and we've kind of saved the world several times. Just saying."

"So that's how you know him," Mizuko said. "You work with them."

"I don't just work with them," Kuwabara said. "They're also my best friends, and they'd never hurt people without just cause, not even Hiei, grumpy as he is."

Everyone was quiet a moment. "Okay," Arashi finally said. "You say you can get us out of here; what then?"

Kuwabara blinked when he realized everyone was waiting for him to answer, even Shaya and Masti. How had he suddenly become the leader of their group?

"Do you think we could get a hold of the Lady and talk with her?" Kuwabara asked.

Shaya shook her head. "No good; the Lady listens to everything Navori says, and he's never going to agree with us."

Kuwabara frowned; that would be a problem. "Okay, scratch that idea. Then we just need to get out of here and get somewhere safe, and I think I know just the place."

"Wait, we have to get Isamu first," Shaya said. "I don't trust Navori enough to leave Isamu here."

Kuwabara nodded. "Right; when I break us out we'll get Isamu and hightail it out of here. We'll have to move fast; Navori is probably going to notice as soon as I break this thing."

"We're ready when you are," Masti said.

Bracing himself, Kuwabara concentrated and summoned his sword.

* * *

Isamu was terrified. He'd been waiting near the front gates to greet Shaya and Masti to get back from their mission, and maybe fuss at them a little for the way they'd left him behind, so he'd seen everything that had happened. He'd seen the argument between them and Navori, and he'd seen the way Navori had just made them disappear.

How could he do that? There weren't supposed to be monsters in the temple; they were all supposed to be outside.

Kirui had looked a little pale too. "What did you do to them?" he asked.

"I put them somewhere they won't be able to interfere with us," Navori said calmly. "Come now; we'll have to report to My Lady."

They left, and Isamu huddled unseen in the bushes trying not to cry. What was he supposed to do now? Shaya, Masti, Mizuko, and Kuwabara were all _gone,_ and who in the Society could Isamu trust after this?

_Noma and Nomi._ They were the only older people in the Society that would take the time to play with him outside of Shaya and Masti. Maybe they would help.

Isamu slipped out of the bushes and snuck into the building, making his way to the infirmary. Nomi still hadn't fully recovered from his stab wound, so they were still there.

Isamu managed to make it to their room without being seen. "Hey, Isamu, what's up?" Nomi said, smiling at him from his bed.

Fighting back tears, Isamu quickly filled in the twins on what had happened.

"Shaya and Masti and their class were all going to leave?" Noma asked.

"And Navori imprisoned them instead?" Nomi finished.

Isamu nodded. "Yes! Please, I don't know who to trust anymore; you have to help!"

They glanced at each other and nodded. "We'll see what we can do," Noma said.

Noma helped his twin out of the bed, and the three of them snuck back out to the front gate. It took longer than it had taken Isamu, due to Nomi's wounded leg.

"Now what?" Isamu asked.

"We don't know," Nomi admitted.

"We can't even tell there's a prison here," Noma added.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and Isamu saw a sword blade appear by itself in midair. The blade slashed down, and suddenly it was like the air itself was torn in two, and out from that tear stepped Kuwabara, followed closely by the others that had been trapped.

Isamu let out a sob and lurched forward to wrap his arms around Masti and Shaya. "I was so scared," he said. "I thought I'd never see you again."

They both hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Isamu," Shaya said. "We're here now, and we're going to go somewhere we'll be safe, okay?"

Isamu nodded.

"We're coming with you," Nomi said.

"Isamu told us what Navori did," Noma said.

"We don't want to stay if that's how he acts," Nomi finished.

"Then let's go, before he gets out here," Kuwabara said.

Isamu held tight to Shaya and Masti's hands as they all rushed away.

"Where are we going?" Arashi asked.

"Master Genkai's temple," Kuwabara said. "We should be safe there."

"You know Master Genkai?" Shaya asked. "She was asked to join the Society years ago, but she refused."

"Not surprised," Kuwabara said. "But yeah, I know her. She's the one who trained Yusuke."

That name meant nothing to Isamu, but he knew now wasn't the time to ask.

"But I should warn you, there are going to be some yokai at her place," Kuwabara said.

Isamu's eyes widened in fear. "Yokai?" he yelped.

"Yeah, but they aren't bad people," Kuwabara said. "Trust me on this one."

Isamu wasn't sure how he felt about that. Weren't all yokai supposed to be monsters? Yokai had killed his parents after all.

_But all of the Society was supposed to be good, and Navori's not,_ Isamu thought. He'd trust Kuwabara on this one.

* * *

AN: Whew. Another chapter down, two more to go.


	26. Chapter 26

Shuichi waited until they were well away from the Society people before speaking. "Are you okay, Maya?" he asked.

"Yeah," Maya said. "They didn't hurt me. Thanks for coming to get me." She glanced over at the other two boys that had showed up. She remembered seeing them at Shuichi's house the day before, but they hadn't been introduced to her. "And thank you as well."

"No problem. I'm Yusuke, by the way," the one who'd shot all the energy blasts said. "This is Hiei."

Hiei just glanced at her and then away, saying nothing.

"Maya," Shuichi said, "I don't think it would be wise for you to go home right now."

"Why not?" Maya asked.

"I'm worried that the Society will try to use you again," Shuichi told her. "I don't think they would, but I didn't think they'd kidnap you the first time. They usually go out of their way to leave humans out of their confrontations; or at least they used to."

The idea that the Society didn't like to get humans involved in their fights made sense, given how strongly Mizuko had reacted to her presence, being willing to quit over it and everything.

"I'm pretty sure none of them wanted me to get hurt," Maya said. Now that she thought about it, even when they'd grabbed her off the street they'd never hurt her, though they'd been a little rough.

"Even so, they put you in danger, and I don't want it happening again," Shuichi said firmly.

"So where am I supposed to go?" Maya asked.

Shuichi considered. "Do you think Genkai will have room for one more?" he asked Yusuke and Hiei.

"Probably," Yusuke said. "But she ain't going to like it. She's already grumpy about all the other people at her place."

"Who's Genkai?" Maya asked. She felt like she'd heard that name before, but couldn't think of where.

"She's the one who trained Yusuke," Shuichi said. "You'll be safe at her temple until all of this is sorted out."

Suddenly Maya remembered where she'd heard the name before. "That's where Sara went, isn't it!"

"Yes," Shuichi said. "Speaking of Sara, I should probably warn you…She's not completely human. She's actually a hanyou."

Maya's eyes widened. "Really?" She frowned at Shuichi. "Okay, I really want to start hearing the details of this story, not just bits and pieces."

"Um, it's kind of a long one," Yusuke said. "We'll have to explain it to you later." He looked over at Shuichi. "Is Koenma really going to be okay with her knowing all of this?"

Shuichi shrugged. "Probably not, but there isn't much of a choice now. I can't erase her memories, and I'm not sure Koenma could now either. Besides, humans are going to start finding out about yokai eventually, since the barrier is down. She's just one of the first."

They caught a bus that was heading out of town and Maya remembered something else she'd wanted to ask about. "Hey, how do you know that Kuwabara guy?"

All three of them looked startled. "How do you know about Kuwabara?" Yusuke demanded.

"He was one of the people guarding me, and he accidently let it slip that he knew Shuichi," Maya said.

"That idiot," Hiei said, the first words Maya had heard him speak that day. "Now he's blown his cover."

"Erm, I don't think so," Maya said. "The only one that heard him was Mizuko, and she said she was planning to quit the Society because they kidnapped me and she didn't agree with that, so I don't think she'd tell anyone."

"Mizuko is the one who was by you?" Shuichi questioned. "Good. Things will be easier if she's not helping them to attack us."

"How come?" Maya asked.

"She's a natural exorcist," Kurama said. "She radiates waves of spirit energy, probably without meaning to do so. In short, it's painful for anyone with yokai blood to go anywhere near her, and she doesn't even have to do anything. Very weak yokai would probably die just by getting to close to her."

"Oh," Maya said. "But you still haven't told me how you know Kuwabara."

Yusuke sighed. "Guess that's my story. We'll be on this bus for a while anyway, so I may as well tell you. It all started a couple years ago, when I was fourteen."

* * *

Navori knew he was treading on thin ice. The Lady found it difficult to believe the story he'd spun her about Shaya and Masti going rouge and taking their class with them. He'd originally planned to tell her that they'd simply quit, but that was before they'd escaped from the prison he'd put them in.

Navori still didn't understand how they'd done that. It didn't make any sense; no one could break through his barriers. Not when he was trapping them in their own pocket dimension. He knew for a fact that neither Masti nor Shaya could have done it, which meant it must have been one of their students, and how any of them could have managed it he had no idea.

But he couldn't risk that they'd come for the Lady and try and convince her that the Society was wrong and that they didn't need to kill every yokai.

Didn't need to kill yokai. What a stupid thought. Of course every yokai deserved to die. They were nothing but evil monsters, threats to the world. They had to be eliminated no matter what it took, even if it required sacrificing some humans in the process. No war was one without casualties after all, and the Society of Light was working for the greater good of everyone.

And when they were done with the yokai, the Society of Light could turn their attentions to the humans themselves. Oh, humans weren't nearly as bad as yokai, but that didn't change the fact that there were still some evil humans, and they needed to die too if there was ever to be a perfect world. Navori hadn't brought this up to the Lady or any other Society member yet, though. Some would not understand the necessity, yet, and the yokai were a big enough problem by themselves for now. It would be several years at least before the Society managed to kill them all. The purging of humans could wait.

"I find it difficult to believe this of Masti and Shaya," the Lady said, steepling her fingers. "They have always been loyal to our cause."

"I was shocked as well," Navori said. "If their own student hadn't informed be of the sorts of heresy they were teaching, I'd never have believed it, and surely you yourself have felt the doubts they've been having lately."

The Lady's eyes narrowed, and Navori knew she was frowning behind the white veil she wore over her face. "This is true, I have sensed doubt and uncertainty in Shaya and Masti lately," she said. "But I never once suspected it might lead to betrayal."

"Who would have, from such friends as they pretended to be?" Navori said.

"I would like to speak with Kirui," the Lady said.

"Of course, My Lady," Navori said. "But he is understandably quite upset at the moment. I think it might be more prudent to wait a while before speaking with him."

There was no way Navori was bringing Kirui in front of the Lady if he could help it. Kirui wasn't nearly a good enough liar to fool her about what had happened. First Navori had to convince Kirui that everything they were saying was absolutely true; then the Lady could speak to him and never sense any sort of lie.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter, Diamo," the Lady said.

Diamo came in, looking grim. He bowed. "Thank you for seeing me, My Lady."

"What is it that distresses you?" she asked.

"I took it upon myself to go visit the renowned psychic Master Genkai and invite her to join us," Diamo said.

"She turned down such an offer years ago," the Lady pointed out.

"I know," Diamo said. "I had hoped that she would have reconsidered by now. However, when I arrived I found that she has turned her home into a haven for yokai."

"She has done what?" Navori snapped. How _dare_ she? "Does she know you went there?"

"No," Diamo said. "As soon as I realized that she was harboring yokai, I left without even speaking to her."

Navori turned to the Lady. "My Lady, we must mount an attack on Genkai's temple. This travesty cannot be allowed to stand."

"I agree," the Lady said. "Gather our warriors. We will crush this gathering of monsters."

* * *

Kuwabara was nervous. Now that they were actually at Genkai's place, he wasn't entirely sure it was the best decision he'd ever made. Still, he had no idea where else they could have gone. Masti and Shaya lived at the Society's compound, and so did Isamu, Nomi and Noma, and the Society knew where everyone else lived. They weren't safe at any of their homes anymore.

But now that they were here, Kuwabara could just imagine how Genkai would react to him bringing a bunch of Society of Light people to her doorstep. Well, ex-Society of Light people. As of a few hours ago.

Yeah, this was not likely to go well.

"Um, you guys should probably wait here," Kuwabara said at the bottom the steps that led up to Genkai's land and temple. "I'd better go talk to Genkai and make sure she's okay with this first."

_And to make sure no one tries to kill you guys on sight._

"Fine," Shaya said. "We'll wait."

Kuwabara headed up the stairs, and it was then that he took stock of all the energy signatures there. He had expected Genkai's and Yukina's but he was surprised by all of the others that he sensed. Since when had Caius, Mrs. M, Barago, and Sara been there? Why did no one tell him these things? And how come Hiei, Yusuke, and Kurama were there with Maya?

_This could go worse than I thought._

Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei and Genkai met him at the top of the stairs. "You brought Society people here?" Yusuke asked. "Kuwabara, what were you thinking?"

"Actually," Kuwabara said quickly, "they've all quit the Society."

"Aren't these the same people that we fought this morning?" Hiei asked.

"Er, well, yeah," Kuwabara said. "But they quit after that."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "Has it occurred to you that this just might be a trick to find us?"

"It's not like that!" Kuwabara said. He quickly told them what had happened after the fight.

"Well, I guess if anything will make you break loyalties with a group it's finding out the higher ups think you're expendable," Yusuke said.

Genkai scowled. "You still haven't explained why you brought them here."

Kuwabara shrugged. "Well, with Navori after them, it wasn't safe for them to go home; I'm not sure that Shaya, Masti, Noma, and Nomi even have homes now that they've quit the Society. This was all I could think of."

Genkai shook her head in disgust. "When will you four realize that this is my _home_? It is not a hotel for you to bring people to any time you feel like it!"

Kuwabara winced. "It won't be for long, I promise! And they're not going to attack anyone, they already agreed to that."

"I still don't see why I should let them stay," Genkai said.

"Look, we want peace between them and us, right?" Kuwabara said. "That's never going to happen if you keep acting like they're going to attack you any second!"

"They could attack us any second," Hiei snapped.

Kuwabara sighed with frustration. "Yeah well they won't! I'd stake my life on that!"

"But you're not staking your life on it," Kurama said. "You're staking Yukina's life on it."

That gave Kuwabara pause for a moment. He thought about all he knew of the ex-Society members. "Yeah," he finally said. "I'd stake her life on it too."

"Well, that settles that," Yusuke said. "If Kuwabara's willing to trust them with Yukina, they can't be bad people."

"Fine," Genkai said. "They can stay the night. But they'd better figure something out quick; I don't like harboring extremists in my home."

"Thank you," Kuwabara said.

"By the way," Kurama said, "you're going to have to keep that girl, Mizuko, away from us."

Kuwabara frowned. "What's wrong with Mizuko?"

"She constantly gives off waves of spirit energy that make it painful for any yokai to be around her," Kurama said.

"It wasn't that bad," Yusuke said.

"You weren't that close to her," Kurama countered. "And you have human blood in you; that dilutes the effect."

"Alright, alright," Kuwabara said. "They'd probably all rather avoid you guys anyways, so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Come on, boys," Genkai said. "We'd better go warn the others about these new guests."

Kuwabara headed back down the stairs. He really wasn't sure how this was going to go, and he was starting to have a bad feeling about it.

_As long as everyone keeps calm, and no one loses their temper, it should be okay._

Kuwabara paused for a moment and thought about his friends. "Yeah, we're screwed."

* * *

"You're just letting people from the Society of Light come here?" Barago exploded.

Sara winced at the yells, but she had to agree with her Uncle's sentiment. Weren't these the people that were supposed to be trying to kill all yokai? It didn't seem like a very good idea to her to just let some of them stay at the temple.

"Kuwabara vouches for them," Yusuke said. "He says they've quit, and now the Society is after them too."

"And you just believe him," Barago said.

"Kuwabara is a good judge of character," Kurama said. "He has never yet steered us wrong as far as people are concerned."

Barago scowled, obviously unconvinced.

"They're here," Genkai said.

Curious, Sara went to the window and peaked out while Genkai herself went outside to greet them. _They look like normal people._

Sara certainly wouldn't have picked any of them out as cold blooded killers. Most of them were teenagers, one was a child, and only three were adults. Really, when Sara had pictured the Society members in her head, she'd imagined, hardened, terrifying warriors that people could tell were evil at just a glance.

Barago and Caius were behind Sara, glaring out the window as Genkai directed the group to another part of the temple.

"They don't look scary," Sara ventured.

Barago snorted. "Doesn't matter. They're monsters. They'd still kill a yokai without a second thought, even if they weren't doing anything wrong."

But would they? Sara wondered. After all, Kuwabara said they had quit the Society…But they'd also tried to kill Kurama just that morning, which didn't speak well of them.

"How do you get like that?" Sara asked out loud. She couldn't understand what would make anyone willing to kill an entire species. It was just _wrong._

"People kill for many reasons," Caius said. "Some like the feeling of power it gives them, some people feel their religion requires them to, some do it for revenge…There are as many reasons as there are people."

"Some people do it because they think they have to for the world to be safe."

Everyone turned to look at Maya, who clasped her hands nervously at the sudden attention. Sara had been happy to see her friend again when she'd arrived, though upset to learn that the Society of Light had kidnapped her.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked. "We haven't done anything to endanger the world."

"I know," Maya said, "but while I was captured, I talked some to the woman that was in charge of the group. She said…She said that a yokai murdered and ate her child. It doesn't make what she's doing right, but I can kind of understand why she'd think all yokai are monsters after something like that."

"I can too," Shiori said quietly. "If something like that happened to my child," here she glanced at Kurama and then away, "I'd probably want all yokai dead too."

"I got the feeling that they all probably had stories like that," Maya said. "A yokai killing or hurting someone they loved. It doesn't make wanting to exterminate yokai right, but it is a reason."

The group was quiet then, and Barago looked away huffily. Sara thought he understood what Maya was saying, but he didn't seem to want to verbally recant his earlier statements.

Genkai came back then. "They're settled in on their side of the building, and they won't be coming over here," Genkai informed them. "Kuwabara is staying with them to keep an eye on everyone and make sure they stay on their side."

"Perhaps one of us should go over there as well," Kurama said. "Though I trust his judgment, Kuwabara is no longer entirely objective about this situation."

"And who wants to get close to that exorcist?" Hiei asked. "I don't."

"I'll go," Yusuke volunteered. "Since I got human blood in me too, she doesn't bother me as much." He left, and things returned to a tense silence.

Sara looked out the window, a queasy feeling in her stomach. She had a really bad feeling that something was about to go disastrously wrong.

* * *

They all seemed very grim, Kuwabara noticed. It was really only to be expected, taking shelter from the very people they had planned to kill. The one that worried Kuwabara the most was Isamu; while everyone else seemed tense and nervous, Isamu seemed downright frightened, and it tugged at Kuwabara's heart, especially when Kuwabara remembered that Isamu's parents had been killed by yokai. It was no wonder the boy was scared of being here.

Kuwabara sat down beside the boy, who was holding on to Shaya for all he was worth. "It's okay, Isamu," Kuwabara said. "There's no one here that would hurt you. They're all my friends."

Well, most of them were his friends. He didn't really know Caius and Barago all that well, but he was sure they wouldn't do anything to Isamu.

Masti studied him. "You know all of the yokai here?"

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah. I meet a lot of yokai as a Spirit Detective. It kind of comes with the job."

"You can say that again."

Everyone started and looked over to see Yusuke leaning on the doorframe. He grinned at them. "Hey. Name's Yusuke."

"Why are you here?" Chouko practically growled. "I thought we were to stay separate."

Yusuke shrugged. "Kurama doesn't trust the milkman, let alone all of you, so here I am. By the way, sorry about shooting you earlier."

Chouko glared at him. "You're not forgiven."

Kuwabara sighed. Couldn't they have sent someone more diplomatic? Then he realized that no, they probably couldn't. After all, Yusuke was obviously there on guard duty, and of the ones powerful enough for that, Kurama was the only one likely to attempt diplomacy, and all things considered, Kurama was probably the last person any of them wanted to see.

_It's a sad day when Yusuke is the best shot at diplomacy that we have_, Kuwabara thought.

Figuring he'd attempt to keep things civil, Kuwabara decided to introduce everyone to Yusuke. "Yusuke, that's Noma and Nomi, Arashi, Chouko, Mizuko, Masti, Shaya, and Isamu," Kuwabara said.

Yusuke nodded and his eyes settled on Isamu, who had shrunk further into Shaya's side at Yusuke's appearance. "You know, Kuwabara's right, kid," Yusuke said. "You don't have to be scared of us. We're not nearly as scary as you think."

Isamu peeked out at him, but didn't say anything.

Yusuke just grinned and kept going. "Kuwabara, remember that one time we played a prank on Kurama?"

Kuwabara chuckled at the memory. "How could I forget? He wouldn't talk with us for weeks afterwards."

Isamu looked curious despite himself. "What'd you do?" he asked.

"Well, you see, there's lots of girls at Kurama's school that have crushes on him," Yusuke said, as though confiding a big secret. "Some of them are seriously obsessed; they follow Kurama around and everything. So one day Kuwabara and I snuck into his school and posted his phone number on one of the school bulletin boards." Yusuke snickered. "The calls just wouldn't stop. Day and night they tried to get a hold of him. The only way he could get any peace was by turning his phone off, which defeats the whole purpose of having a phone of course. Eventually he had to get a new number."

"He still flinches whenever his phone rings," Kuwabara confided, and Isamu smiled just a little bit.

"And then there was the time we tricked Hiei into going to a heavy metal concert," Yusuke said. He laughed at the memory. "Now that was hilarious."

Kuwabara grinned. "His expression when the music started was the funniest thing I've ever seen." Noticing the puzzled looks he was getting, Kuwabara explained. "Hiei has really sensitive ears, and he hates crowds. Turns out he hates heavy metal music too." Kuwabara scratched the back of his head. "Actually, it was probably kind of mean for us to take him to a heavy metal concert when we knew he'd hate it so much."

"As much as Hiei makes fun of everyone else, he totally deserved it," Yusuke said, obviously feeling no guilt about their past misadventure.

Yusuke took a step in the room then, and with a flinch retreated back to his place in the doorway. "Okay, Kurama was right, that really does sting."

"What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke pointed at Mizuko, "Did you know you were a natural exorcist?"

Mizuko's eyes widened. "No, no one told me that! Um, what does that mean?"

"It means you've always got waves of spirit energy pouring from you, which is painful to yokai," Shaya said, "and probably the reason you'd never been attacked before. I was going to teach you to rein it in and unleash it in more concentrated bursts, but we didn't get that far in your training."

"Oh," Mizuko said.

Kuwabara had been keeping an eye on Isamu during this conversation and was pleased to see that he'd been slowly relaxing as Yusuke talked. The others were tense as well, but Isamu was the one that concerned Kuwabara the most due to his age.

Suddenly and explosion rocked the room. Everyone was instantly in their feet. "What the heck was that?" Yusuke demanded before running off.

"Stay here," Kuwabara ordered before dashing off after him. Kuwabara skidded to a halt just behind Yusuke on Genkai's front porch. Standing just above the stairs was Navori, the Lady, Diamo, and a bunch of other Society members that Kuwabara didn't know.

This was _bad._

* * *

AN: Okay, this chapter was getting a bit long, so the big fight happens next chapter. That means one more chapter and an epilogue and this story is done. Finally, right?


	27. Chapter 27

Sara didn't get a chance to rush to the window and see what was happening when the first explosion occurred. Barago immediately dragged her back to a doorway that led deeper into the temple. Caius herded Shiori and Maya that way too. "I'll guard these three," Barago said. Caius nodded and turned to join the others rushing outside.

Barago led the three of them deeper into the temple, and the sounds of fighting grew fainter. "What's going on?" Shiori asked.

"The Society is here," Barago said grimly.

"How'd they find us?" Maya asked.

"My guess?" Barago said. "They followed Kuwabara and the Society people he brought here."

Sara didn't like that idea, but it did seem plausible. But she was sure that at the very least Kuwabara would never have led them to Genkai's temple on purpose.

They made it to a back room and Barago placed his hands on the door. With a small burst of power Barago disguised the door to look like just another part of the wall. "There," Barago said. "If the worst happens this should keep the Society from noticing us." He glanced at the women and hastily added, "But I'm sure it won't come to that."

"So, what now?" Maya asked. "We're just wait for the fight to end?"

"Yes," Barago said. "Hopefully it won't take long."

Shiori made a noise of distress. "I wish we knew what was going on."

Sara did too. As scary as it would be to see them fight, it had to be better than sitting in a room with no idea at all of what was happening.

"Sorry," Barago said, "but you three aren't fighters. If you were out there you'd only get in the way."

"What about Yukina?" Maya asked. "From what the guys told me she isn't a fighter. How come she isn't back here with us?"

"She's a healer," Barago said. "If they get hurt bad enough, they'll need her. Besides, if you make them mad, Koorime can be very dangerous."

The floor shivered beneath their feet. _What is going on out there? I need to know!_

If only there was some way she could get _out. _Suddenly Sara felt lightheaded, and then her whole body felt light, as if gravity had abruptly ceased to work. The others called her name, and Sara turned to see her body laying limply on the floor as the others rushed over to check on her.

"What happened?" Maya asked, sounding frightened.

Sara wanted to know the same thing. She didn't feel like she was in danger, but she didn't understand how she was outside of her body. "Uncle Barago?" she asked.

Barago didn't respond to her voice, but cradled her body. His eyes narrowed. "She's astral projecting," Barago said. He raised his head and looked around. "Sara, wherever you are, get back in your body right now!"

"Astral projecting?" Shiori repeated. "What's that?"

"It means she can move her mind outside of her body," Barago said. "It's a skill that many in our clan possess."

"Sort of like being a ghost, except she's not actually dead, right?" Maya said.

"Right," Barago said. "But Sara, you'd better get back here!"

"So," Sara said, "this is one of my powers…" She paused as she realized she could use this to spy on the battle. It would mean disobeying Barago, something she wouldn't normally even dream of doing, but she had to know what was going on.

"Sorry, Uncle Barago," Sara said, and she moved through the walls back to the fight.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The front courtyard was almost unrecognizable, gouged and smashed from different attacks, and even though she knew nothing of real battles, Sara could see things were going badly for her friends. The Society was fighting to kill, while the Spirit Detectives were forced to hold back their attacks because they weren't allowed to kill humans. Worst of all were the barriers that kept trapping the detectives and their allies; from what Sara could see it looked like only Kuwabara was able to break the barriers for some reason, and apparently the Society knew it too, as several of their people were targeting Kuwabara.

Tears filled Sara's eyes and she covered her mouth in horror. It was looking like her friends were going to lose, and if they lost they would _die._

"No," she whispered. "No, please, someone…"

An arrow of pure spirit energy streaked through the battle, hitting one of the people attacking Kuwabara, knocking the man down. Sara looked to see where it had come from and gasped. The people Kuwabara had brought to the temple were out, and joining the fight!

The girl with the bow stayed back on the temple porch, picking people off with her arrows. A man with two glowing sai teamed up with Caius to help him fend people off. The set of twins hovered around Yukina, using their long range attacks to keep the Society from getting too close to her. A girl with a mace threw herself in the thick of the fight, battling her way to Genkai's side to stand back to back with the old psychic. The last two, a man and a woman, charged in together, heading straight for a woman dressed in all white that Sara instinctively felt must be the leader of the Society. The woman was at the back of the battlefield, heavily guarded by Society members, and not actively participating in the battle that Sara could see.

"Shaya, Masti, you truly have betrayed us," the woman in white said, her voice somehow carrying over the battle.

"You betrayed us when you decided my students were expendable!" the woman, Shaya, yelled back.

The woman stiffened. "I never—"

"You sent us on a suicide mission!" Shaya cut her off. "_My students!_"

"Sacrifices have to be made," a tall man beside the woman in white snapped. He waved a hand and a glowing barrier formed over Shaya and Masti, trapping them. "You two could never understand that sacrifice is a part of war!"

"The sacrifice of adults is a part of war," Masti said, glaring from behind the barrier. "Adults, who have been trained, and who fully understand what they are getting themselves into. The sacrifice of untrained children should _never_ be a part of war!"

"The _only_ reason we're still alive is because the yokai—the _monsters—_decided to let us live." Shaya's body trembled as she spoke. "If the monsters can show mercy to their enemies, what does that make you, Navori, when you tried to kill us for not completing our mission? What does that make us, when we killed people for no other reason than they weren't human?"

Sara's eyes were drawn back to the woman in white, who had grown, very, very still throughout this conversation. Sara saw with a sudden clarity that the woman had had no idea about any of these things that Navori had done, or about what had happened during the fight between Shaya's class and the Spirit Detectives.

Navori's face had turned an interesting shade of purple. "If you would side with the yokai, you deserve to die with them!"

The barrier began to rapidly shrink in size, and Sara's eyes widened in horror as she realized that Navori planned to crush Shaya and Masti.

"I don't think so!" Kuwabara lunged into view, slashing his sword at the barrier, which disappeared.

Navori took an angry step forward, but behind him the woman in white raised a hand and simply said, "Stop."

And everyone froze, human and yokai alike, a white glow coating each of them. Sara looked around; they were straining against the woman's power, and it wasn't likely to hold long, but how powerful was this woman that she could do such a thing at all?

"I have been lied to," the woman said, gliding forward. "I will know the truth."

She placed two fingers on Kuwabara's forehead for a moment, and then stepped back with a gasp. The white glow faded from everyone, and they could move again.

"Fall back." The woman's voice cracked like a whip through the still air before anyone could move.

"My Lady," Navori started, but she didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Speak to me, and I will strike you down where you stand, Navori," the woman snarled.

Navori shut up, looking stunned. The Society members edged back from the battlefield, their movements uncertain and hesitant. Yusuke made to step aggressively towards them, but Kuwabara flung up an arm to stop him. "Don't," Kuwabara said. "This is over."

"So it is," the Lady agreed. "We will pursue you no longer. There is no point."

Yusuke sputtered. "Seriously? That's _it_? You try and kill us multiple times, you track us down here and get us in an all out battle, and now you're just saying it's over?"

"Do you wish to fight to the death?" the Lady asked.

"No," Kurama said quickly, cutting off whatever Yusuke might have said. "We do not. If you will leave us alone, we will leave you alone."

The Lady inclined her head. "So it shall be. Let us go."

The Society left then, as the Spirit Detectives watched. The battle was over.

Relief flooded Sara, and she slowly slipped back through the temple and into her body. She blinked her eyes open, still cradled in Barago's arms.

"It's over," Sara said. "We won." Dizziness cut through Sara's relief, and she felt like she was about to throw up.

"Idiot," Barago huffed. "That's why I didn't want you doing that; astral projection has some nasty side effects when you're not used to doing it."

He could have mentioned that before she'd taken off. Sara groaned and tried very hard not to be sick.

* * *

Kuwabara didn't relax completely until the Society were completely out of sight. "What just happened?" Yusuke demanded.

"The Lady went through my memories of stuff," Kuwabara said. "She was able to see from them that we weren't actually evil and there was no reason to kill us."

Yusuke threw up his hands in frustration. "That was all it took to convince them to go away?"

"Not just go away," Kuwabara said. "I could sort of feel what was going on in her mind while she was reading mine. Since she finally gets that not every yokai is evil, she's planning to completely rethink the Society's mission."

Shaya made a choked noise. "You read the Lady's mind."

Kuwabara shrugged. "Well, I mean, she was in my head, so her mind was kind of open…"

Masti shook his head. "Really, Shaya, I don't know why you're surprised at anything he does now."

"It isn't that surprising," Genkai said, walking calmly towards them. "Kuwabara is the most powerful psychic alive now."

Kuwabara gaped at her. "I'm what?" he yelped, not even caring about the way his voice cracked on the last word.

Genkai glanced at him scornfully. "Hadn't you figured it out yet?"

How was he supposed to figure out something like that when he was constantly being overshadowed by his three best friends?

"Frankly I think you have the potential to become more powerful than Sensui ever was with the right training," Genkai continued.

More powerful than Sensui, who trashed them all and actually managed to kill Yusuke…

Kuwabara really, really wanted to sit down now.

"Speaking of training," Shaya said, looking ticked for some reason, "how come none of you ever thought it'd be a good idea to properly train Kuwabara?"

Genkai stared at her placidly. "He never asked."

Shaya looked like she'd love to hit Genkai over the head with her wooden sword.

"So, what now?" Barago's voice cut through the brewing argument. When had he showed up with the girls? Isamu had appeared at some point too and was clinging to Masti and Shaya's hands. Kuwabara tried to get his mind back into the moment and over the shock of the anvil that Genkai had just dropped on him.

"Everyone inside," Shiori ordered, suddenly taking in charge. "We'll need everyone settled so that we can tend to everyone's injuries."

People followed Shiori's direction without argument, but Kuwabara paused when he saw that Mizuko wasn't approaching the group as they went inside. Kuwabara walked over to her. "Why are you staying out here?" he asked.

"I can't be near yokai, remember?" Mizuko said, looking sad.

Caught up in the moment, Kuwabara had forgotten about that. "Oh, right," Kuwabara said. "I'll stay out here with you then."

Mizuko shook her head. "But you're hurt, you should be seen."

Kuwabara was banged up pretty bad, but he'd had worse injuries. "Nothing's broken or life threatening," Kuwabara said. "Yukina can only heal so many people at once."

They were silent a moment. "You were amazing out there," Mizuko finally said quietly.

Kuwabara blushed a little, warmed by her compliment. "Thanks," he said. "You did good too; I don't think you missed any of your shots."

Mizuko bit her lip, looking uncertain. "Kuwabara, there's something I need to tell you."

"Okay," Kuwabara said.

Suddenly Mizuko stood up on her tiptoes and planted a firm kiss on Kuwabara's lips. Kuwabara's ability to think came screeching to a stop, and all he could manage when she pulled away was a, "Huh?"

Mizuko's cheeks were a pretty shade of pink as she looked up at him. "I like you, Kuwabara. I have ever since we first met. You're the most honorable, sweetest person I've ever met, and I never thought I'd actually find someone like you, and…" She trailed off and shrugged. "I really like you."

Caught completely off guard by Mizuko's confession, Kuwabara blurted out, "But I like Yukina."

Mizuko jerked back like he'd slapped her, and Kuwabara regretted his hastily spoken words. It was true, he did like Yukina, and he'd never once thought about Mizuko romantically, but he wished he hadn't been quite so blunt about it. He didn't like Mizuko like that, but he didn't want to hurt her either.

"I'm sorry," Kuwabara said, feeling like a jerk. But it wasn't like he could pretend to like Mizuko to make her feel better. He had to be honest. "I've had feelings for Yukina for years now, and well…I'm sorry."

Mizuko's bottom lip trembled, and for a moment Kuwabara was terrified that she might cry. However, Mizuko squared her shoulders and simply asked, "Does she like you too?"

Kuwabara didn't know how to answer that. He'd tried several times over the years to confess to Yukina, but something always happened to prevent it. "I'm not sure," he admitted finally.

"Okay," Mizuko said. "Then I'm not giving up."

Kuwabara stared at her, unsure how to respond.

"Until you and Yukina are actually a couple, I'm going to pursue you," Mizuko said, "and I'm going to make you change your mind and like me instead."

Kuwabara didn't see how that could happen. He'd liked Yukina for so long now, he couldn't imagine liking another woman. But he had no idea how to say that to Mizuko.

Mizuko turned and walked away, and Kuwabara watched her go, feeling utterly helpless. Chouko suddenly walked by and punched Kuwabara in the shoulder, hard. "Ow!" Kuwabara said as she glared at him.

"Jerk," Chouko snapped before going after Mizuko.

Yeah, that about summed up how Kuwabara was feeling right then.

* * *

The Lady felt as though her whole world had been turned upside-down and shaken about. Things she'd been raised to believe in, ideals that she'd held close her entire life were _wrong._ How could so many generations of people be so blind as not to see it?

Yokai were just people, no better and no worse than humans.

"My Lady," Diamo spoke up. "How can we just leave them like this?"

"Because," the Lady said, "they are not evil."

A ripple of disbelief went through her people. "But they're yokai!" Diamo protested.

"I looked through the memories of that Kazuma Kuwabara," the Lady said. "They are not evil. In fact they have saved the world several times, from yokai and from humans." The Lady looked up at the sky, where the sun was setting, painting the western horizon with a blood red glow. "They are not evil…And our mission is wrong."

It hurt to admit that. It hurt so badly, and brought up all the old feelings of resentment that she'd thought she'd purged from herself years ago. The Lady had followed all the traditions that the Society required of her when she'd risen to her post as their leader. She'd broken ties with her past, had given up her name and earthly attachments. The ideals of the Society were her husband, the members of the Society were her children, and all her life was given over to them.

_What was my name, before?_

She couldn't remember anymore, it had been so many years since her name had been spoken. She was only the Lady, the light of the Society.

And the Society was wrong.

"That can't be," Navori protested. "The Society's mission isn't wrong! All yokai are evil, and they must be destroyed!"

_Navori._

Anger welled up inside of her, and the Lady turned on Navori. She had trusted him, more than anyone else, had trusted everything he'd said, but Navori had lied to her, had used her for his own ends, and she'd just let him.

"How dare you speak to me?" the Lady snapped. "You who deceived me; what else have you been lying to me about?"

Navori opened his mouth to protest, but the Lady didn't give him any chance to do so. Her hand shot out and rested on his head. She forced her way into his mind, and she found everything. Most of his lies hadn't been very big; just little lies, half truths, all of which worked together to place the Lady firmly under his control. She also found his ultimate goal; after the extermination of yokai, he'd planned to set the Society to purging the human race as well, killing anyone that did not fit in Navori's standards of what was right.

The terrifying part of this was that the Lady thought he might have managed to convince of the rightness of his plan. If they had succeeded in their plans of committing genocide against an entire race of people, what would there have been to stop her from agreeing to culling the human race? She would have followed where Navori led, committing more and more atrocious sins.

She couldn't forgive him for that.

_Your plans will never come to pass._

The Lady pushed herself deeper into his mind, to the very core of his being, that that bright, hot place that held his spirit energy. Steeling herself against Navori's anguished howls of protest, the Lady closed and sealed the doors that led to his power.

The Lady wrenched herself from his mind, and Navori dropped to his knees, gasping in pain. "For betraying me," the Lady said, "for trying to kill Masti, Shaya, and their students, and for you plans to cull the human race, I forever strip you of your power, Navori, and I exile you from the Society of Light."

The Lady turned her gaze on the other members of the Society. "The Society of Light was created to protect humans. That hasn't changed. We will still work to keep humans safe from all harm. We will not, now or ever again, attempt to wipe out yokai from this world. If you can accept this change, then return with me now to the temple. If you cannot accept this change, you may consider yourselves removed from the Society of Light as well."

The Lady turned and continued walking. She didn't look back to see who was following here. They would come or they wouldn't. It was all up to them now.

* * *

A few days after the battle with the Society of Light, it was time for Sara and Barago to leave and join their clan in Makai. They'd located the current position of a portal from the human world to Makai, and now all that was left to do was say goodbye. The only ones who'd come to see them off were Maya, Shiori, Caius, and Kurama.

Maya hugged Sara tightly. "I hope you'll do well over there," she said.

Sara smiled at her. "Me too."

Maya sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm glad I met you, Sara."

Sara blinked back tears of her own. Maya had been one of the first friends that Sara had ever had. "I won't ever forget you, Maya."

Shiori hugged her as well. "Thanks for everything you've done," Sara said.

"You're very welcome, dear," Shiori said. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Sara said.

Lastly, Sara looked up at Kurama. She would miss all the friends she had made here, but most of all she was going to miss Kurama. Though she knew a relationship between them wouldn't work right now, she couldn't deny that she still had feelings for him.

"I wish you luck, Sara," Kurama said, his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks," Sara said. She shifted her weight, not wanting the conversation to end but uncertain of what to say. "I'm going to come back," Sara blurted out. Kurama looked surprised at her words. "I will," Sara said. "Once I'm stronger," once she'd healed the scars life had left on her, "I'm going to come back, and the first thing I'm going to do is find you."

Kurama smiled at her. "I look forward to it."

"Sara," Barago called, "it's time to go."

"I'll see you later," Sara said.

"See you later," Kurama replied, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her cheek.

Sara turned away to join Barago and take her first steps into a new life.

* * *

Just the epilogue left now!


	28. Epilogue

Six Years Later

Kurama closed up his garden shop an hour early. It wasn't like he'd been doing a lot of business that day, and he had a get-together to make it to. Yusuke and Keiko were throwing a Christmas party at their house, and they'd invited everyone to come. Kurama had laughed a little at the idea of them doing a Christmas party, since it was mostly considered a holiday for couples, but Yusuke was sentimental enough to take any excuse he could use for getting everyone together.

Kurama walked quickly through the chilly afternoon air, looking forward to an evening spent with his friends. It had been a while since everyone had been able to get together like this.

He had almost made it to Yusuke and Keiko's house when he heard a voice call his name. "Hey, Kurama!"

Kurama paused and looked back to see Ashja rushing to catch up with him. They had never really managed to get rid of Ashja all those years ago once the boy had found out about their secret. It had been a little annoying at first to have Ashja constantly following them around, but once they'd given up on getting rid of him Ashja had actually proven surprisingly useful.

While Ashja never really showed signs of having spirit energy he did develop a keen sixth sense from constantly hanging around Kurama and his friends, and he was naturally a very observant person. Thanks to these talents, Ashja was good at spotting potential trouble before it started, which he always reported to the Spirit Detectives, and such trouble had been popping up with more and more frequency over the years as yokai continued to move into the human world.

Ashja grinned when he caught up with Kurama. "On your way to Yusuke and Keiko's party?" he asked.

"Where else?" Kurama replied.

"Do you think we'll be able to convince Yusuke to cook some of his ramen for us?" the seventeen-year-old asked. It never ceased to amuse Kurama how much Ashja could eat without seeming to gain any weight. Though, the self-defense lessons he took from Kuwabara probably had a lot to do with that.

"Get Yusuke drunk enough and I'm sure he'll agree," Kurama said mildly.

Ashja made a face. "But his food doesn't taste as good when he's drunk!"

After Yusuke had married Keiko three years ago, Mr. Yukimura had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Yusuke had a before unknown knack for cooking. The man had declared he wouldn't be worried at all to leave his restaurant in Yusuke's hands, even though Yusuke still didn't have much of a head for numbers. Luckily Keiko knew how to handle the actual business side of everything.

"You must admit his recipes are always more creative when he's drunk though," Kurama said.

Ashja rolled his eyes. "Creative isn't the word I'd use for mixing squid, olives, and barbeque sauce, and whatever else it was he put in that dish he tried to pass of as edible."

Kurama chuckled at the memory. "At least that particular one wasn't staring at you."

Ashja shuddered. "Thanks for the reminder; I'd just about blocked that memory."

They made it to Yusuke's house and walked on in without bothering to knock. Keiko and Yusuke had informed their friends long ago that if they wanted privacy they'd lock their door; otherwise there was no need for old friends to knock.

"Kurama, Ashja, you're early," Keiko said when she spotted them.

"Business was slow, so I figured I go ahead and come," Kurama said.

"I just didn't have anything to do today," Ashja said.

"If you two are here, you can help get stuff ready in the kitchen so Keiko can take a break!" Yusuke called from said kitchen.

Keiko huffed. "Yusuke, I'm fine! Being pregnant doesn't make me an invalid!"

Kurama chuckled. When Yusuke had found out that Keiko was pregnant with their first child he'd been excited, but he hadn't really changed the way he treated her until she actually started showing. He'd become as bad as any mother hen then, constantly hovering over Keiko, making sure she was okay and insisting she do as little manual labor as possible. Keiko was now seven months along, and so everyone had heard this particular squabble many times.

Ashja swiftly moved in to guide Keiko to a nearby chair. "Of course you're not an invalid, but you do look dog tired. You should rest before anyone else arrives, or you'll be snoozing before we break out the drinks."

Keiko glared, but allowed him to settle her in the chair. "As sweet a talker as you are, I'm shocked you don't have a girlfriend yet, Ashja."

Ashja waved a hand airily. "I could have a girlfriend if I wanted. Plenty of girls at my school like me. I just like older women is all, but since I'm not quite legal yet they won't give me the time of day."

Was that the excuse Maya was using these days? At age twelve Ashja had stated his determination to marry Maya one day, and he hadn't yet changed his mind, despite Maya's many obvious attempts to discourage him, and several flat out 'no's. Kurama wondered what she'd do when Ashja turned eighteen in a few months.

They joined Yusuke in the kitchen, and Kurama didn't even try to hide his grin at the sight of Yusuke in one of Keiko's flowery aprons. "When are you going to buy an apron of your own, Yusuke?" Kurama questioned.

Yusuke snorted. "That's be a waste of money when we've already got lots I can use."

"So you really don't care about wearing aprons with flowers on them?" Ashja teased.

"If someone says flowers are girly, I'll just send them to Kurama," Yusuke replied with a grin.

Between the three of them they managed to finish preparing the snack foods quickly, and no sooner had they set them out in the living room than the door swung open to admit Kuwabara, Mizuko, and Isamu.

"Great timing," Yusuke said, "you show up after the work is done. But I guess that's what cops are known for, huh?"

Kuwabara just grinned at Yusuke's good-natured, and by this point, fairly old teasing and replied, "I'd rather be a cop than a housewife." Yusuke scowled and yanked the flowered apron off.

Mizuko lightly punched his arm. "What's wrong with housewives?"

"Nothing," Kuwabara hastily assured his bride of not quite a year. "But can you picture me in a housedress?"

Mizuko giggled at the image and lightly kissed him. "I much prefer your uniform."

Isamu rolled his eyes and made his way over to Ashja, the only person that was actually his age. "They've been doing that the whole way over," the teenager complained. "I thought that kind of mushy stuff was supposed to stop once they got married."

Ashja shrugged. "If they haven't stopped by now, they'll probably keep doing that even when they're ancient."

Isamu groaned. "Thanks for giving me a mental image that I so did not need."

Mizuko headed over to Keiko to chat while Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara gathered in a circle. "How are things with the Society?" Kurama asked. "I haven't heard much lately."

"Pretty good," Kuwabara said. Under the guidance of the Lady, and with much help from Shaya and Masti, the Society of Light had undergone a big change. They no longer had any genocidal plans, but worked as a sort of peacekeeping force between humans and yokai, much like the Spirit Detectives did. Mizuko and Kuwabara were both high ranking members in the Society, and Kuwabara was still training under Shaya and the Lady. Under their tutelage Kuwabara's abilities had improved by leaps and bounds, and though he still wasn't quite at Sensui's level, Kurama now firmly believed in Genkai's prediction that Kuwabara would one day surpass Sensui in power. "We got a couple of new recruits, which always puts Shaya in a good mood."

Yusuke snorted. "She just likes having new people to torture."

Kuwabara grinned. "Yeah, probably."

Hiei suddenly appeared at Yusuke's elbow, causing him to jump. "Geez, Hiei, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Yusuke snapped.

Hiei scoffed. "It's hardly my fault you're unobservant."

"When did you even get here?" Yusuke asked. "I didn't hear the door open."

"I didn't use the door," Hiei said.

"What do you have against doors?" Kuwabara asked.

Before Hiei could respond to Kuwabara's question, Ashja shoved his way into their group with a grin. "Hiei! It's been a while."

Ashja had never really gotten over his hero worship of Hiei, just as Isamu had never really gotten over his hero worship of Kuwabara. Hiei tolerated Ashja's attention with a surprising patience at this point, though Kurama secretly believed that Hiei enjoyed the admiration that Ashja lavished on him.

"Hn," was all Hiei said.

"How're things in Makai?" Ashja asked. "Is Mukuro doing well?"

Kurama wasn't sure how Ashja had found out about Hiei's relationship with Mukuro, or why Ashja always asked about her welfare as the teen had never actually met her before.

"Fine," Hiei said.

Ashja barreled on with the mostly one-sided conversation, and the door swung open again to reveal Yukina, Chouko, and Maya. Somehow, despite the fact that the three of them had very different personalities, they had become very close friends over the years, and it was nearly impossible to catch one of them by themselves anymore.

Ashja stopped talking midsentence when he noticed Maya. "I'll talk to you later, Hiei." Maya was the only person who could steal Ashja's attention away from Hiei like that.

Yusuke chuckled after Ashja dashed off. "I wonder if Maya ever will give in to him about dating."

"I think she will," Kuwabara said confidently. "If only to stop him from begging."

"Speaking of dating," Yusuke said, cutting his eyes at Kurama.

Kurama held up a warning hand. "Don't even go there, Yusuke. I'm not interested."

Ever since Yusuke and Kuwabara had gotten married, they seemed determined that Kurama should find a love interest as well, and they didn't seem to understand why Kurama didn't appreciate their meddling in his love life (or lack thereof).

Not that Kurama had ever really explained his reasons. He'd never told them about Sara's promise to return, and they'd probably think he was crazy for waiting six years for her. But Kurama didn't feel closure on their relationship, and he knew he wouldn't be able to fully commit to any other woman until he had that closure. Besides, it wasn't like Kurama was human; he could afford to wait some years before getting married.

"But Kurama, I really think you'd like this one," Yusuke insisted.

"No," Kurama said. "I'm not doing anymore blind dates." He should never have gone on the first one. He'd only done it to shut Yusuke and Kuwabara up, but now they thought he really wanted to find someone to be with.

Which he kind of did. Just not yet.

Maya squeezed in-between Yusuke and Kurama, leaving a very put out looking Ashja standing a few feet behind her. "How's it going?" she asked.

Everyone said things were going well, except Hiei who didn't seem to think the question merited a reply. Maya looked over at Kurama. "I haven't been to see your mom and Caius in a while. How are they?"

"They're doing good," Kurama said. "Jiro is keeping them busy as usual."

Maya chuckled. "Well, he is only four; four year olds tend to do that."

Shiori and Caius had married less than a year after the whole battle with the Society of Light. Kurama hadn't really approved of the marriage, but seeing how happy it made Shiori he hadn't objected. Shiori and Caius had very soon had a son together, which Kurama had also found a little off putting after having been an only child for so long, but Jiro had grown on Kurama. So had Caius, albeit a little more slowly.

"I should really stop by for a visit soon," Maya said.

Kurama smiled at her. "I'm sure Mother would love that."

The moved on pleasantly. At some point Ashja produced mistletoe, and proceeded to try and corner Maya with it. She tricked him into holding it over Isamu's head instead, at which point Ashja had tossed the mistletoe, saying it was a stupid custom for Americans.

Yusuke did eventually get drunk enough to create one of his more unusual dishes, but only Kuwabara was drunk enough to be willing to try it. Kuwabara then tried to arrest Yusuke for attempted murder, resulting in a minor brawl between the two that didn't last very long with Keiko yelling at them to not break her house.

Eventually the party wound down, and everyone started drifting off on their way home. Kurama enjoyed the walk from the Urameshi's house to his in the cold December night air. When he made it to his own small house, Kurama paused. There was something different about it, but what?

Finally his eyes spotted what was off. Planted in the ground beside Mokie was a lone tulip, but Kurama had never planted any tulip there. But who would do that?

"Scarlett?" Kurama asked when he suddenly recognized the tulip.

The plant waved a leaf at him. "Hi, Kurama."

But if Scarlett was here, then that meant…

Kurama rushed for his door and quickly went inside the house. A figure stood up from his couch as he entered, and Kurama stopped and stared.

Sara had changed over the years. Her body had filled out, looking more like a woman and less like a girl. She'd grown her brown hair out long, so that the tips brushed her waist. The most notable change though was in the way she held herself, no longer cringing or frightened, but with a quiet confidence that Kurama felt suited her well.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello," Kurama replied, finally closing his front door.

Her green eyes flickered over him. "You've changed."

His appearance had changed quite a bit since she'd last seen him, though his friends were used to the change and no longer remarked upon it. His red hair was liberally streaked with silver, and Kurama no longer used dye to cover it up. One eye had changed from green to gold, and he'd grown several inches taller. If his unusual appearance made humans uneasy, he no longer cared; Kurama had long since tired of pretending to be someone he wasn't.

"I merged with Yoko not long after you left," Kurama said. "It had some very obvious side effects."

Sara smiled at his words. "I like it."

Kurama walked closer to her. "How long are you planning to stay?"

Sara shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on a few things."

He stopped in front of her and she tilted her head back to keep her eyes on his face. Kurama cupped her face with his hands, leaned down, and gently but firmly pressed his lips against hers. Sara responded eagerly to his touch, tangling her hands in his hair.

When Kurama finally pulled back, Sara said, "I might stay for a while."

"Good," Kurama said, and kissed her again.

* * *

AN: So, the journey of Sara's Story and When the Coin Melts is now over. And it only took us six years to finish. It's been a fun ride, though sometimes stressful, but we're glad to this, our very first fanfiction project, complete at last. We hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as we did!


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